Locket of Triton
by xxTayTayHillyxx
Summary: Sequel to Key of Stone. Basil and Anna have defeated the serial killer and now must attend trial before they enter their second year with their best friends, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. They believe that everything will be safe, but that's not always the case. Something else is lurking on Hogwarts ground, something dangerous. Something...scaly.
1. The Fireplace

**Hello! So this is my sequel to Key of Stone so I hope you enjoy! Also, I'm thinking of making a Harry Potter tumblr to link to this story and headcanons. Anyways, read on!**

_The Fireplace _

The loud bangs and crashes of thunder vibrated the walls inside and out of the Sweets home. The summer had an abundance of lightning storms that covered all of England, yet the days were filled with sun rays and sweltering heat.

Basil and Anna were currently getting ready for bed in Basil's bathroom that connected to her somewhat large room. Basil's bed was messily made with her summer work sprawled over the bed while Anna's pullout bed was made neatly with her books stacked behind her pillow. The floor was littered with trinkets that were sent by Albus, James, or Rosie; they were mainly joke objects from the Weasley joke shop or little children toys that flew around.

Yet nothing was messier than Basil's desk. On Basil's desk, letters were scattered and thrown messily about with ink stains. Most of these were from Albus or Harry Potter; these letters contained dates and evidence for the trial that was coming up. The previous year, Basil and Anna had captured the criminal that was turning Ministry children to stone. They had found that Arnold Sweets, Basil's grandfather, sent Xavier Aguirre to break into the Artifacts section of the Ministry; this was how the magic was returned to Basil and her family. Harry also found evidence of Arnold tampering with the list of students entering Hogwarts that year. This is also where they stole the keys that enter the walls of Hogwarts. Harry had retrieved two of the keys while Basil was sure she burned the last one the year before.

"Is your mum sending more flowers to the Potters? Weasleys?" Anna asked and spat her toothpaste into the sink.

"I think so." Basil replied blankly as she tied her hair into a tight bun.

Jasmine Sweets was an exceptional florist as she grew the most beautiful flowers anyone had ever seen. Jasmine decided to send bundles of flowers to the families that were affected by Arnold; so far it went perfectly with sweet replies back. Unfortunately, Jasmine sent a bundle of roses, lilies, and daisy's to the Potters, which involved Albus discovering his allergy to daisy's that made him sneeze for hours. James had sent moving pictures to Basil that were, unfortunately, hilarious.

"We haven't received a letter in weeks. I thought the trial was coming up this month! We only have two more weeks till school starts." Anna rambled as she laid in her pullout.

"Mr. Potter is very busy with Auror business. Something might've happened." Basil assured then threw her work on her desk.

"What about Albus?" Anna reminded with a worry look imbedded on her face.

"Maybe their owl got lost." Basil suggested and turned over on her stomach.

"It doesn't take mail this long from Islington to Wolverhampton." Anna fought and yawned.

Basil didn't respond as she didn't know how to reply to Anna. Basil didn't want to admit it but, she felt Albus was hiding something. His letters became vague and he always ended his letters with, '_Hope to see you soon.' _Basil didn't know what he meant and she felt it was nothing to address in her letters.

Anna was fast asleep as Basil was just slowly drifting; her mind was focusing on little things. _I have to clean the dishes tomorrow. _Basil groaned internally. Jasmine had assigned more work for Basil to do since she found out her daughter had acquired magical abilities. Basil told her over and over that she couldn't use her magic to clean anything or help, but Jasmine insisted it was to help with responsibility.

"I defeated a serial killer. I think I have enough responsibility." Basil replied a week ago.

"Hush! Your father is still upset." That was a blatant lie.

After the magic was returned to the Sweets clan, Brandon Sweets took every advantage to learn magic and use it for everything. The Ministry of Magic sent private tutors for Brandon to control his magic and he was improving more than Basil had. Brandon used magic to make breakfast in the morning and clean the rooms. Even though he was exceling, there were times where it back fired on him.

Basil finally drifted asleep when silence drifted over the usual noisy house. It truly was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Everyone was in their rooms, asleep, with no sounds to be heard. Yet something was stirring in Basil's brain, making the picture of a large man screaming at her and throwing spells.

"Stop it! Stop doing this!" Basil pleaded and tried to stun him.

Basil's wand wouldn't cast any spells as her body was being shot at and torn apart by the spells. Arnold Sweets emerged as the man with a wild cackle as he repeated curses to make Basil fall over. Arnold stood over Basil with an evil smile and wand glowing red; Basil tried to scream but nothing came out.

Suddenly, Basil lurched forward in her bed. Basil heard large bangs that erupted from downstairs that shook her from her nightmare. Anna shot up, her bedtime bun sideways, her eyes scanning around drowsily. Basil threw her feet on the ground quietly hoping that the person may not hear her.

"Did you hear that?" Anna piped up when she fell from her bed.

"Yeah, grab your wand." Basil agreed and flipped her wand out from under her pillow.

"We can't use magic!" Anna reminded with an angry glare.

"We can when protecting ourselves." Basil reminded with her eyes narrowed on the door.

Basil and Anna crept down the stairs to look into the front room that the stairs looked out towards. The room had a large chimney that was surrounded by large blue loveseats and a sofa; it was decorated simply with not a lot of large furniture to hide behind. The room had several side tables with potted plants that were close to the furniture and entrances of the room. The two girls entered the archway that went into the room and went to their knees; they couldn't see well and it was silent.

"Let's go-"Basil was shushed by Anna.

Anna crawled towards one of the end tables that held a large bouquet of flowers in a beautiful vase and passed it to Basil. Anna crawled back and stared at Basil as she mouthed a countdown; Basil had no idea what she was doing or what she meant. Once Anna mouth one, the blonde girl hit the vase from Basil's hands. The vase flew through the air and suddenly stopped in midair.

"ACHOO." A young voice sneezed and hit the floor.

The lights were flipped and the room showed Albus Potter laying on the floor in a sneezing fit. From what Basil could tell, Albus grew about an inch and now passed Anna's height and almost to Basil's. James appeared from behind the couch, taller than both girls, and greeted the two. Rosie, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Weasley appeared also with greetings. Smiles shined on both young girls' faces as they finally were reunited with their friends.

"Albus! What are you all doing here?" Anna greeted and hugged Albus tightly.

"We're very sorry but the Ministry put down more regulations on our court date. We had to leave immediately to bring you and the other witnesses." Harry Potter explained.

"Other witnesses?"

Suddenly, two feet fumbled down the stairs and looked straight out into the lighted front room. Jasmine and Brandon Sweets stared, Brandon awestricken, at the famous trio. Brandon rushed down the stairs to greet Harry while Jasmine stood stiff and glared at the group.

"Mr. Harry Potter! It's a pleasure to meet you. Oh and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Brandon Sweets greeted as his knees shook violently.

"Basil, you didn't tell us friends were coming over." Jasmine sighed, aggravated, and joined the group.

"I didn't know."

"We'll explain everything Mrs. Sweets." Hermione assured.

"I'll make us all tea! Come to the kitchen." Brandon instructed the adults to the kitchen.

They left Basil, Anna, Albus, James, and Rosie in one room. Anna started hugging everyone and greeting every person properly while the latter returned the gesture. James looked Basil and Anna up and down with a smug grin on his face.

"Nice PJ's." James teased.

Basil and Anna wore long night dressed with lopsided buns. Basil laughed sarcastically and made another snide remark that would not be soon repeated. Albus was staring at both girls with admiration; Basil remembered all the amazing times with Albus and Anna last year with the feeling of joy flooding through her body.

"So why did you guys break in?" Anna asked with her usual sweet smile.

"The court date is this week and we need to go fetch Malfoy." James spat.

"Scorpius? Why do we need him?" Basil asked defensively.

Basil had to admit that Scorpius warmed up to her at the end of the year. Scorpius risked his life to save Basil from the Medusa's curse and has the scar to prove it; Basil felt awful for putting Scorpius through all of this though. One thing that Basil couldn't forget is the hug at the end of the term. It made her blush to that day.

"He's another witness. We have Rosie, Derek Collins, Kristina Young, you, Anna, Al, and all we need is Malfoy." James explained then put his arm around Rosie and Albus.

"What about Tia McGinty?" Anna questioned.

"She's refusing to work with Basil." Rosie replied with a roll of the eye.

"What did I do to her? I saved her life." Basil shot back and threw her arms over her chest.

"She says that you put her 'Scorpy' in danger and he almost died saving you." Albus groaned in disgust.

"Well that's wonderful." Basil sighed and threw herself in the chair.

Then there was a loud explosion coming from the kitchen and the smell of burnt metal entered the room. All the kids sprinted to the small kitchen that was occupied by the adults. Brandon Sweets was slightly singed and his wand was pointed at the tea pot that clearly exploded. Jasmine Sweets was giving a disapproving look and threw the broom in her husband's hands.

"We'll handle-"

"No! He'll clean it up the muggle way." Jasmine interrupted Ron Weasley and fell back into her chair.

Harry cleared his throat and continued with conversation while Basil and Anna placed a few more chairs to sit. They were passed some tea but remained quiet throughout the whole conversation. The sun rose and shined through the window as they finished talking about the trial.

"How long will this last?" Jasmine asked and tucked her long black hair behind her ears.

Jasmine's appearance was almost exactly to Basil's; they both had dark black hair and round faces. They were both around the same height but Basil knew she'd grow to the same height or taller than her. The only thing different was the eyes; Basil had her father's eyes. Basil knew she was alike her mother in very ways, one being their temper.

"Just the week. The school year is approaching and we'd love to have them stay over until September 1st." Harry explained and finished his tea.

"Well both of them would love that." Brandon added. The broken tea pot was now in the garbage.

"Where's the Winchesters'?" Hermione inquired.

"My father is attending foreign business with South Africa. My mother is at home working on her business plans." Anna explained in a monotone. "I'll tell my house elf to send letters to my father about this."

"So they can stay over!" Albus exclaimed and jumped from his seat.

"I believe so." Harry agreed, a small smile appeared on his face.

Basil, Anna, and Albus smiled to each other then dashed out of the room. Anna hugged Albus yet again while Basil leaped up the stairs and packed all her things in her trunk. Anna joined a little later to put together all of her sleep over items.

"This'll be great!" Basil exclaimed and dragged her trunk down the stairs.

"Yes! I can't wait to meet Ginny Weasley. But what about the Malfoy's?"

Basil looked towards her best friend with an odd expression. Was there something wrong? Basil didn't acknowledge what her worried tone was about. This was until she finally realized the horrible truth. Basil would come face to face with Draco Malfoy, an ex-death eater, and ask him to let his son join the court. The Malfoy's have had a bad name ever since the second war and nothing scared Basil more than facing them.

_Mr. Malfoy will probably be cruel to Mr. Potter. _Basil thought instantly and looked towards one of the greatest wizards alive. Basil knew Harry had done greatness while Draco had not. James spoke so poorly of the Malfoy's that it was believable that Malfoy's and Potter's hated each other. They were total opposites from each other.

"Next time I see that little runt, I might as well beat him." James muttered as soon as Albus spoke his name.

Basil felt her chest burn and her fist clench. She became fond of him and she was sure Scorpius would be more civilized towards everyone; Scorpius promised Basil that. Ron and Hermione levitated the luggage back towards the chimney to use the floo network. Basil stood stiffly and in a trance of thoughts and worried. _Oh Scorpius…please don't break the promise. _


	2. The Potter Home

**Hello everyone! Quick note: All the faceclaims for this Next Generation series are in my bio. Check them out maybe, thank you!**

_The Potter Home_

"Welcome to our home!" Albus echoed through the foyer to his friends.

The Potter house was large and elegant, yet clearly old. James said that it belonged to Harry Potter's godfather, Sirius Black, as Basil and Anna placed their things on the polished flooring. The house was full of moving pictures from their family and their cousins; everyone was laughing or smiling in the pictures. It was a pleasant sight, except the house elf was clearly annoyed that there were so many people in the house.

"Why must Master have so many people….too many people." Kreacher growled as he gathered up the suitcases.

"Is he always that grumpy?" Anna asked. Her eyes were scanning the curtains that covered some large object..

"Only when people come over; most of the time he's a little more pleasant." Albus replied and pushed Anna from the curtains. "Don't touch. Mrs. Black wakes up when you open them. She likes to scream."

Basil didn't quite know what to say about that, but it didn't matter once there was a sudden smell of roast and carrots traveling into the room. Basil instantly thought of Persephone and her love for food. A small ache started in her heart as she remembered how much she missed her friends from their Ravenclaw dorm room. She couldn't wait to see her friends again. Albus led the group into the kitchen that held Ginny Potter. She quickly turned away from her food and went to her sons.

"Welcome home sweetie. Oh, this must be Anna and Basil! I've heard lots about you." Ginny greeted as she hugged her son. The two girls greeted back.

"Mum, why don't we show them Al's old baby pictures? You have-"

"James, I know you're trying to embarrass your brother. Go help Kreacher with the bags." Ginny ordered and ruffled her older son's hair. James rolled his eyes to his mother.

"What's the point of having a house-elf…" James muttered and trudged from the room. His frown was present.

"Don't let Aunt Hermione hear you." Ginny quipped.

Albus laughed and gave a full tour of the house to Basil and Anna. The rooms were vibrant with pictures and beautiful furbishing, which was a bonus because some of the other rooms looked untouched. Each room had some sort of coloring of red and yellow; probably homage to their Hogwarts house. The first floor bedroom was Albus's room, decorated in red and gold with pictures of the three from the previous year. It was fairly clean with the exception of books and parchment that laid upon his desk. A poster of the Holyhead Harpies was hanging over his desk; Ginny Weasley in her chaser uniform stood out with her bright red hair. Then another poster of Brazilian chaser, Goncalo Flores, which hung right next to the one of his mother.

"My mum was an amazing chaser. My dad was an amazing Seeker too. I think that's where James gets his talent. I can't even throw the quaffle." Albus sighed and they left the room.

"Quidditch sounds fun to me. I might try out this year." Anna stated as they went up the level.

The first floor, where they were before, only held Albus's room and the entrance to the Drawing Room. The second floor held Lily's room and the master bedroom. Albus began talking about something that hung beside the wall but Basil was staring at something else. There was glowing lights from Lily's room. Basil peeked inside the younger girl's room; it was decorated with all the House crests from Hogwarts and pictures of Lily and her family. Lily was sitting on the floor reading something from an old looking book.

"What are you reading?" Basil asked and revealed herself in the doorway.

Lily jumped and slammed the book closed. The young red head turned to Basil with a meek smile and shrugged. Albus moved in front of Basil and looked back at his younger sister then the book. His face turned red as he ran towards her. Basil knew he was holding a curse back on his tongue.

"Lily! Why are you going through Teddy's things?" Albus yelled and snatched the book.

"I was just reading-"

"This is from Teddy's collection. You know how he is about these things from his parents." Albus scolded and held the book under his arm.

"I just wanted to know what a Patronus is." Lily whined then sat on her bed.

Lily gave Albus a pout, which he ignored, then the trio left the room. Albus sighed as they went up two more floors. They skipped over James's room, which Albus made a remark of the mess, and continued to the fourth floor.

"This is where you'll be staying. This was Sirius's and Regulus's rooms when they lived here. Dad said you can stay here." Albus explained and showed the conjoining rooms.

The rooms were partially cleaned out with brand new looking furniture. Albus explained to not touch anything on the desk and in the old drawers. These things contained old pictures and clothes from the past residents. Both girls laid out their things for the two days that they were staying while Albus clumsily tried to tidy up the rustic rooms.

"Come down for dinner in five. We have to go straight to bed because in the morning we're going to the Malfoys straight away." Harry Potter instructed.

When the trio entered the dining hall, Kreacher was placing all the necessary plates and utensils for dinner. Harry and Ginny sat next to each other on one side of the table with Lily and James on the other side. Albus sat down with Anna then Basil next to him.

"Thank you Kreacher." Ginny acknowledged. The house-elf excused himself immediately.

The dinner was simple with a meat course and salad for sides. The family began simple talking while Basil kept quiet; Anna joined in a few times with some clever quips. The Potter's laughed at all of them. Anna made an instant impression on the family.

"Dad, what's going to happen at the trial?" Albus questioned.

"They'll probably bring out Arnold Sweets and say what he is accused of. We'll bring out the victims to say their story. Hopefully, we'll have you three and Scorpius to explain the final battle." Harry clarified.

"While that is happening, Fleur, Hermione, and I will go out to Diagon to shop for your school things." Ginny added with a flashy smile.

Anna thanked for both her and Basil. Basil kept her silence and nodded to the older women. The little voice inside of her head nagged at her. It kept telling her to keep her mouth shut, but at the same time, to say something. _I almost killed their cousin. _A voice screamed from the back of her mind. _Shut up, it wasn't my fault. _Anna abruptly stood up with the rest of the family. They gave their plates to James, as it was his turn to clean up, and returned to their rooms.

"Goodnight Anna! Goodnight Basil." Albus sighed and closed his door.

Anna and Basil arrived to their rooms and dressed into their night attire. Anna said her goodnights and went straight to bed. Basil exhale noisily and tossed over and over again in the foreign bed. Her mind was not in the right place for sleep that night. _I'll see Scorpius tomorrow. _A voice reminded as her eyes closed for a second. It was a sudden rush of adrenaline that kept her awake. Her brain seemed to be fighting with itself.

"_They all hate him. He's very bad." _

"_But he promised to be nice and be our friend." _

"_Malfoy's don't keep their promises. James told you that."_

"_He says a lot of things." _

Basil hushed the voices in her head, hoping that the quiet would place her mind to unconscious bliss. It didn't quite work as her eyes scanned every corner of the room for something focus on. Nothing seemed of interest or importance to her in this room. That was until there was a loud squeaking coming from the door. Basil flipped from her bed and fell to her knees on the floor, wand in hand.

"Sorry to startle you Basil." Harry Potter calmly apologized. Basil placed her wand away.

"It's alright. Why are you up here though? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Basil asked curiously. Harry let the door open wider.

"I wanted to check up on everyone. I see you're doing fine." Harry chuckled. Basil nodded as she remembered her quick response.

"Mr. Potter, should I be worried for tomorrow? The Malfoys are-"

"You're going to be fine."

Basil looked to the older man for a moment, she didn't know what to say next as she was expecting for a response of explanation or a story of his past. She knew Mr. Potter had a few bad run ins with the Malfoys, why was he so sure this wouldn't have any bad consequences?

"What about the trial?" Basil shyly looked at the older man.

"You'll be fine. I know what you're going through and it's not pleasant, but you'll be fine. After the trial, your whole family will back to normal." Harry assured.

Basil murmured a thank you and a goodnight then Harry did the same. Basil crawled back into her large bed, mind wandering and twisting into new worries about her family. Deep down, Basil knew it wouldn't be normal; it was never normal. Thankfully, a peaceful sense of sleep washed over the brunette leaving only blissful dreams to wash away the fears that would reappear tomorrow.


	3. Malfoy Mayhem

_Malfoy Mayhem _

The next morning was more hectic than the night before with Ginny planning to go to Diagon Alley, Lily whining about wanting to come to the Malfoy house, and the male Potters were getting ready for departure. Harry Potter would converse to Draco and Astoria while Basil, Anna, and Albus would talk to Scorpius. James was going along just in case 'Malfoy tried something'. Basil felt her heart race and her face redden at the thought of James accusing Scorpius of doing anything, but Basil kept quiet.

"Muuum, I want to go too!" Lily whined and threw herself on the couch.

"No you can't sweetie. You're coming with me, Aunt Hermione, Auntie Fleur, and Hugo for school things. Hugo is going to be a first year." Ginny reminded while fumbling with her purse.

"It's not fair! Hugo is born one day before the cut off." Lily stated and stomped upstairs.

Basil sat stiffly in a love chair that was near the front door. Albus was chatting with James about Quidditch and Anna was calming Lily down in the next room. _She's so good with the Potters. _Basil thought and flattened her shorts out. It made Basil nervous at the thought of the Potters liking Anna more than her; in no way did Basil want to compete with Anna, it was just that she hated being compared to Anna. Basil just wanted to be equals with her best friend.

"Are we ready?" Harry asked. Everyone gave their positive response. "Now we're apparating in front of the Malfoy Manor. Hold on."

All four of the kids grabbed onto Harry's arm and prepared themselves for apparation. There was a sudden rush and Basil felt as if she was knocked over and being turned inside out. Suddenly, she was standing outside a grand mansion, all limbs and body parts intact. It took a few minutes for her eyes to focus and lungs to operate properly.

"It's always the cruel ones who have the nicest things." James spat as he stomped towards the gate.

"James, be nice to the Malfoys." Harry stepped towards the communication box. "Hello? Draco? Astoria?"

"Yes? Who is this?" A female voice called back. She sounded sweet yet formal.

"It's Harry Potter and others. We've come to see your family."

"Oh did Draco finally call you? Come in, come in!" The women's voice became high pitched in excitement.

The gates opened up to two hedges that made a pathway to the opening of the mansion. There was a large albino peacock statue that was placed in the middle of the opening; behind the statue, a few feet back, was the front of the house. Harry went to knock on the door only to be caught off guard by the door swinging open.

"Welcome all!" Astoria greeted and rushed all of them in. Basil was in shock to say the least, Scorpius looked nothing like his mother.

The rooms were dark but elegantly decorated with contrasting black and white furniture with that had hints of green every once in a while. Astoria showed them into the sitting area where there were enough couches and chairs to fit them and a few more guests. Basil felt more comfortable with Mrs. Malfoy, she seemed very down to earth and sweet, unlike the stories she had heard from James.

"You're lucky that you came today. Lucius and Narcissa come by every day, but they're gone on vacation-what did Draco say when he contacted you?" Astoria snapped her focus to Harry as her dark hair fell gracefully.

"He didn't. We were hoping to talk to you, Draco, and Scorpius about the trial coming up." Astoria sat herself properly on a loveseat with confusion.

"Oh yes that Sweets trial. I hope he's put to death for hurting my boy. Why do you need to speak about this case? Oh Scorpius come down here!" Astoria called out and stood up.

Astoria Malfoy constantly fixed things around the room as Harry tried to talk about trivial things. James was hiding a scowl by throwing his head down and away from the woman. Basil tried to relax in the chair but the glances Albus gave her and Anna made her feel uncomfortable. It made it worse when the footsteps were sounding throughout the house. Tension built up inside her gut making it difficult to even move without clenching her hands.

"Mum, I was in the middle of-Basil? Potters? Winchester?" Scorpius said in an astonished tone.

"Yes they want to talk to us about something. Oh Basil? Basil Sweets, I've heard so much about you." Astoria shook Basil's hand quickly.

"Where's Draco?" Harry asked.

"He's coming home from lunch right now. He'll apperate in the dining room and come here. Now what do you need us for?" Astoria opened up the doors.

"Some questions for Scorpius about the trial." Anna interfered then turned red. Astoria smiled down at them.

A loud banging came from another room and then a call for Astoria. Astoria answered and stood near the door for her husband. Scorpius kept his eyes on Basil as he sat opposite of her; he looked so guilty with a touch of fearful. Basil felt her insides constrict as Draco Malfoy entered the room.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" Draco said bitterly. Mr. Malfoy's face was defined with a look of an anger present.

"Afternoon Draco." Harry looked as if he was biting his tongue from saying something awful. "We need to ask something of your son."

"About the attack I'm guessing? That Sweets girl saved him right?"

"That would be me, sir." Basil squeaked and tried to blend to the couch.

Draco analyzed her as if he was going to attack; his blue eyes looked her up and down for what seemed like forever. Basil tried to look presentable, or at least classy, hoping that she would get his approval. There was an awkward silence as they waited for Draco to speak but that never came.

"Yes, Basil Sweets and Anna Winchester joined us today." Harry added to stop the silence. James gave Draco an offensive gesture but Malfoy did not see. "The trial is approaching, tomorrow actually, and Scorpius's cooperation would help our case. He was there when Arnold told Basil his plan."

"My family doesn't need that publicity. Scorpius doesn't want to interact with you all." Draco snapped back as he reclined in his dark green chair. Basil watched as Scorpius flinched.

"Scorpius doesn't want to relive that event. I know it must be traumatizing to be manipulated into risking his life-"

"Excuse me?" James spat. Scorpius looked dead on at Basil with a plea in his blue orbs.

"Scorpius joined voluntarily!" Albus fought back. His cheeks turned a bright red.

"He saved my life and everyone else! If he didn't block the spell then I couldn't defeat him." Basil defended, but her eyes didn't leave Scorpius.

"I'm sure Potter's Aurors would have caught him. Now you, Basil Sweets, should know better to keep your mudblood-"

"Father! That's enough. I wanted to help them and I saved Basil because I needed too. Stop speaking for me!" Scorpius shot up on his feet with all the blood rushing to his cheeks.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Do not speak to your father-"

"Coward father." Scorpius interjected. Gasps came from his mother.

Harry Potter looked to the kids with wide eyes that were full of fear and confusion. James was smiling widely while holding back a fit of giggles; he looked as if he had just won the lottery. Basil watched in horror as Draco started to scream at Scorpius, yet the blond boy seemed unfazed. Draco shouted about how Scorpius was out of line and that he should respect him as his father.

"Respect? You're a coward! Unlike you, I fought for something good! You damn death eater!" Scorpius screamed so harshly his face turned a whole new shade of rouge.

Draco turned paler than usual and sat back in his seat; blankness glazed his defined features. Scorpius stomped off towards the back of the house, leaving everyone in an eerie silence. Harry stared at his old nemesis with pity and guilt. Basil edged towards the end of the couch to get up. _I have to help Scorpius._

"I'll go calm him down." Basil stood and took a step forward.

"Now, don't-"

"Astoria let the damn girl go." Draco hissed.

Basil darted out of the room, afraid of what will happen next, and through the back door of the manor. This led to an amazingly beautiful garden with giant rose bushes and a large fountain that had a snake statue wrapping around it. Basil saw Scorpius leaning over the fountain and splashing the water surface. Basil watched Scorpius throw purple petals into the water, oblivious to Basil's presences.

"Scorpius?"

"Basil? What do you want?" Scorpius snapped angrily.

"Are you okay? You got really upset back there." Basil sat beside Scorpius and scanned the water. She was unfazed by the rudeness of her male friend.

"I'm fine. It's just, I can't stand my father treating you like that." Scorpius sighed and rubbed his face.

"It's fine, I'm use to it. Do you think you'll help us with the trial?" Basil asked abruptly. She skimmed the water with her hand.

"Of course. I saved everyone, I should get recognition." Scorpius scoffed with a chuckle.

"Scorpius, you're a prick." Basil giggled while Scorpius nodded with a cocky grin.

Basil rolled her eyes then stared at the pale boy; his usual attitude was now creeping back. Her eyes scanned the perfect boys face to see the scar appeared prominent on his clear skin; it was on his cheek and looked like a crack in the road. Basil felt her stomach drop as her breath shorten while looking at the scar. _It's all my fault. _Basil was use to feeling guilty, but now it felt even worse when she knew that it caused so much pain in his family. Suddenly, Scorpius stood up abruptly and suggested they return to the sitting room. Basil was taken aback, but agreed anyways.

"Scorpius! How are you feeling sweetie?" Astoria trailed on and hugged her son.

"I'm fine mother. Have you made your decision?" Scorpius stared at his father with bluntness.

"You're free to go. Potter, if my son is hurt again…I'll kill you." Draco stated. He laughed dryly after.

Harry awkwardly laughed along and shook his hand stiffly. Basil could sense the awkwardness as the male adults talked about a dinner that was happening tonight. James scowled at the Malfoys while his hand never left his wand, which Basil was disgusted by. Albus and Anna joined Basil and Scorpius with rejoicing smiles.

"What was that all about Malfoy?" Anna asked in a hushed tone. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"My mother has always said I'm one for dramatics." The blond boy joked.

"Seriously Scorpius." Basil set her gaze on him. "Why?" Scorpius led them from the room and to the foyer.

"My father is a coward. I know the story of the Second Wizarding War and my father did nothing but screw everything up. My grandfather Lucius tells me they fought bravely for their Lord, but that's crap." Scorpius hissed with a sense of pain in his expression. "It didn't help that they were harassing all of you. My father is nasty towards his old classmates. I don't know why…he always talks about apologizing….but like I said, coward."

"Malfoy…I guess we can hear the whole epic story tonight. My Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are coming over for dinner." Albus suggested meekly. Scorpius nodded.

"I would be delighted Potter." Scorpius smirked like usual.

"It's nice to see you civilized." Anna joked and leaned to Albus.

"I promised to be friends with you all. I never go back on my promise." Scorpius stated then glimpsed at Basil.

Basil felt her face flush and her insides tighten again. The fact that Scorpius remembered the promise made Basil felt happier since she defeated her grandfather a summer ago. It almost made up for the guilt that built up in Basil. Soon, Albus and Scorpius started conversing like old friends, Anna joining in with questions. Basil watched the scene play out with the brightest smile on her face. For once, she was truly happy and didn't care what was in store for her the next day.

**Check out my face claims in my profile and please review! Thanks guy! **


	4. Trial and Error

_Trial and Error_

The next couple of hours were filled with bickering and awkward laughter. Albus and Scorpius were fighting about Quidditch teams while Basil and Anna laughed at their childish acts. James was sitting in the same room, his eyes glaring at Scorpius, as he waxed his broom. They sat in the kitchen while Ginny prepared a fancy dinner and Harry wrote through notes for the trial, mumbling as he wrote. Basil glanced over at Harry a couple of times, trying to read his notes, but he was unresponsive while working this hard.

"Where are Hugo and Uncle Ron?" Lily cried out and plopped into a chair.

"They're on their way sweetie. You do know that Aunt Hermione is coming too?" Ginny reminded with a bright smile.

"I know but she always corrects daddy's and Uncle Ron's stories. I like their version better." Lily sighed.

"Hermione likes to get all the facts straight is all, Lily." Ginny assured and set the table.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and cackling coming from the hallway with a lingering smell of smoke. All the Potters and Anna piled out to see what the commotion was about while Basil and Scorpius stay in their positions. They both acted awkward towards the close nit family; even Anna was becoming close to all of them. Ron, Hermione, Rosie, and Hugo Weasley entered the dining room with large smiles and laughter. Rosie hugged both Scorpius and Basil tightly with words of admiration.

"I've missed both of you so much!" Rosie exclaimed and released Basil.

"Yes, it's been so long. How are you?" Basil replied.

"I've been taking all my free time to study the trial. I remember every moment up to my attack. I'm ready for tomorrow." Rosie rambled as she sat next to Scorpius. Her curly red hair bounced as she talked.

"Harry, you have a Malfoy in your house." Ron pointed out snidely. Basil caught this immediately and stared down at the man.

"Ron! Scorpius is our guest." Ginny reasoned. She slammed the entrée on the table while Basil relaxed.

"How's Draco anyways?" Hermione intervened with sweetness.

"He's…I can't really explain how it went. It's complicated." Harry stated bluntly. "There was a lot of yelling, but Astoria whishes us well."

Basil quickly peeked at Scorpius; his head was hanging low and his eyes were focused on the silverware. Basil wanted to assure him that it was okay but her brain couldn't form words, especially in front of the Potters and Weasley's. The incident burned in Basil's mind as a trauma, even though it wasn't hers, she felt terrible about the family strife.

"Now, for tomorrow there needs to be few guidelines," Harry started with a cough. "When Arnold Sweets enters the room, do not make eye contact until called upon. You will state your story and facts and step down. After all of our stories, he'll be set a punishment."

"Hopefully death." James sneered. Basil felt her heart sink at the thought.

"James dear, please. Basil is right here." Hermione nudged him.

"No, it's alright." Basil assured. "It's okay…I swear."

The whole table fell quiet soon after the awkward exchange. No one wanted to start a conversation that might cause Basil to become upset. Yet, Basil was fine with the talk of the trial; she felt a little relieved that her grandfather would be charged for his felonies. Yet, she did feel a longing to see her grandfather again. The dinner went on for about an hour till everyone was dismissed for bed with no arguments, except for James who wanted to stay up to watch some Quidditch game.

"Bright and early tomorrow!" Harry reminded. His hand slightly pushed Albus up the stairs.

"We know dad."

"Well we all know you're a heavy sleeper Al." Ginny commented absent-mindedly as if she forgot all his peers were standing right beside him.

Albus resembled a fresh rose when the words were flown into the ears of his friends and family. Anna giggled slightly as Albus tried to play it cool, which failed evidently as he tripped up the stairs. Basil and Scorpius walked together, feeling as the outsiders, but didn't make eye contact or converse. When Scorpius reached Albus's room, the place he was sleeping, he lifted his head to meet eyes with Basil.

"Goodnight Basil. Night Winchester." Scorpius stated in his civilized manner.

Both girls responded happily; Anna hugged Albus, who had scuffed up his knees and hands pretty badly, and then left to the stairs. Basil followed and talked about tomorrow's preparation, mainly Anna talked about the dress she would wear and the one Basil had to wear. Basil made a notion of not wanting a dress because she thought it wouldn't suit the darkness of the trial.

"Don't worry Basil, we'll be fine. Goodnight." Anna assured with a bright, bubbly smile.

"Thanks Anna, goodnight."

Basil closed the door and instantly slid to the ground. She hung her head low and all the negative contemplations spilled out in echoes. _You're putting your Grandpa in jail. The Malfoy's fought because of me. I should stand up to James and tell him Scorpius is good. I can't though. _Basil knew her own strength; she wouldn't be able to confront James. He wasn't stronger than Basil, but he was a firecracker and could obviously go on for hours if they fought.

Basil dressed for bed lazily, hoping sleep would never come, and sprawled herself in the twin sized bed. She snuggled underneath blanket only to find something furry was crawling with her; it was of course Hairball. _Mrs. Potter must've brought him. _Basil thought and scooted to her precious cat. The room soon blurred into darkness as Basil's eyelids grew heavy and she finally fell asleep.

The next morning came as soon as the summer had begun. Anna was abuzz and ready before seven in the morning. She wore a lacey black dress and matching shoes; something appropriate for a trial and funeral, or at least that's what Anna said. Basil got ready in her own routine while Anna chatted about the day.

"Oh Basil, you'll looking great in my old dress." Anna gushed and brought out the said outfit.

It was minty green with lace and a black collar; Basil had no problem with dress surprisingly, or at least she didn't say she did. Basil threw on the garb and addressed her reflection in the mirror. Her brown hair grew a couple of inches and the baby fat from her face was declining. Yet, she felt so childish. Her mind had matured but her baby like skin was unmarked, even after fighting a serial killer.

"Come down for breakfast!" A voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

Basil kept staring at her reflection and fixing herself like she was acting on impulse; she didn't feel like she had matured since last year. Basil remembered the battle that led to triumph from last year; she thought it would bring a little more elegance to her stature. This thought was thrown in the back of her mind as there was shuffling from behind her. Another figure was standing next to her with his blue eyes piercing her brown ones. It was Scorpius, dressed in dashing robes, and he smiled slyly at Basil.

"You look…nice. Let's go get breakfast." Scorpius admitted sheepishly.

Basil agreed, returning a compliment, and followed Scorpius down the grand stairway and to the dining room. Rosie sat at the table already, wearing a pastel pink dress, and eating pancakes. Lily sat with her but still in pajamas; she was obviously mad at not being able to go to the trial.

"Next time can I go?" Lily pleaded with her father.

"Let's hope there's no next time, but yes." Harry agreed and kissed Lily's head.

"Welcome dears, there's enough pancakes for everyone." Ginny greeted.

Albus and Anna were sitting next to each other while finishing off their pancakes. They were looking over a paper that looked like a newspaper. Basil sat next to Anna then read the paper the blonde held; it was the Daily Prophet. What was even odder was that the headline was _Sweets Family Torn Apart! _

"What is this garbage?" Basil spat and grabbed the news.

"It's nothing! It's just gossiping about how you and your grandfather are on different sides of the trial. Other stories are out there saying you're working with him." Albus explained.

Basil felt the anger built up, but before she could do anything, the paper was turned to fire and ash in her very hands. The kids looked up to see Harry Potter putting his wand away with a conspicuous smirk. Basil held back a giggle as she nodded a thank you.

"We have five minutes everyone!" Ron Weasley echoed through the house.

Hermione Weasley was rolling her eyes at her husband as she talked to Rosie about the day's trial. It was a repeat of the set of rules they had to follow, but Rosie appreciated the guidance form her mother. Basil then thought of her mother spending her whole day cleaning, cooking, and complaining about the magical things. Jasmine wasn't fond of the power Brandon and Basil obtained, but she pretended not to notice.

"Why aren't my parents on the trial?" Basil asked in an almost whisper.

"They refused to do so, but they were happy to let you testify." Harry answered.

Basil finished off her food with the thought of her parents now suppressed in the back of her mind. Scorpius didn't make a sound as the family grouped together to do their necessary duties. Anna and Albus stood by the door with James tapping his foot impatiently.

"Are we all ready?" Ron inquired.

Everyone agreed, all dressed and prepped appropriately, and Harry Potter had all his notes with him in hand. They made their way into Weasley's car, which was very roomy on the inside due to magic, to go to one of the openings of the Ministry of Magic.

"Are you nervous?" Scorpius whispered to Basil. They sat in the back of the car with Anna and Albus.

"A little, I haven't seen my grandfather since that night." Basil admitted. She gripped the leather seat as the nerves returned.

"Are you going to be okay?" For some reason, that question remained unanswered in Basil's brain. _Will I be okay? Even afterwards?_

"I'm not sure." Basil stated bluntly and turned her head away.

The Malfoy boy took his gaze somewhere else, maybe to relieve the awkward tension that appeared. Basil began listening to Rosie and James conversation about this year's Quidditch try outs but was interrupted with the abrupt stop from Ron. They were parked into an abandoned parking lot with only a phone booth a few feet away.

"We have to use that." James sighed with slight annoyance.

Harry and Ron explained the workings of the phone booth that was actually a magical elevator to the Ministry of Magic. They all had to fit into the cramped booth and wait for Harry and Ron to all be certified to go through. Once they completed that stage, only Basil and James feeling claustrophobic, they were in the lobby of the Ministry.

"Wow…" Basil gasped in amazement. It was all foreign to her, yet enchanting.

"It's not so great." Anna whispered softly as they passed.

After their wands were checked out, they passed through the many halls and people of the Ministry. Familiar faces joined them as they passed, which included Derek Collins and Kristina Young. Derek's eyes were brighter than ever when he saw Basil and Anna; he immediately hugged Basil and thanked her again.

"Basil, oh I can't thank you enough. You look very beautiful." Derek complimented and released.

Basil blushed madly after Derek expressed his gratitude and continued to blush when Kristina hugged her also. Scorpius rolled his eyes in his cocky mood and gave a nod as a hello to Derek. They moved slowly to the elevator, piling in like a clown car, and then made awkward conversation until their floor.

"How was your summer?" Anna asked the two.

"My mum freaked out since the end of the year, but it's been very fun. I spent a lot of time practicing Quidditch." Derek replied coolly. His relaxed demeanor seemed to release the tension from Basil at once.

"Are you trying out for the Ravenclaw team?" Basil asked shyly. _Of course he is. I'm so stupid. _

"I'll try. I think I'm a good enough Chaser. Maybe Beater." Derek smiled cheekily.

Basil looked to her side to see Scorpius edging away from Derek as much as possible without being caught. The elevator abruptly stopped to the floor that was dimly lit and slightly dusty. Harry and Ron whispered to each other then escorted everyone down the hall. They suddenly stopped towards a door that was shaking with mumbling and chattering.

"Aurors Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley." Harry announced to the door.

The door turned into a bright yellow and swung open to reveal a group of seven or more people. Some of these included Kingsley Shacklebolt and August Winchester, Anna's father. August Winchester had perfect blond hair that was slicked back. His blue eyes sharpened at the sight of Anna walked into the room; neither made any acknowledgment to each other.

"Anna, happy to see you again." Another man greeted.

He had to be in his early twenties with a fresh complexion and built body. He had light brown hair with green eyes that was identical to Anna. This was Attacus Winchester, brother to Anna Winchester. Basil smiled and waved to the slightly older man and he waved back with a welcoming response. It's been years since they had seen Attacus, he moved out once he graduated from Hogwarts and got a job right away in the Ministry with his father.

"These are our friends from school." Anna explained with her pearly white smile.

"Yes, and also the witnesses. We'll get to the trial right away. Come this way." Attacus agreed.

Attacus led them up a flight of stairs that brought them up to an elevated arena like space. There was a chattering jury and a few Ministry members sitting and watching the middle of the room; this is where Arnold Sweets was chained. Basil felt all the horror flood through her yet again, all she wanted to do was strangle him or run.

"You ready?" Anna whispered. Her hand placed around Basil's arm.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Basil replied, determination in her voice.

The witnesses sat next to the judge, Kingsley Shacklebolt, with patience and distant looks away from Arnold. After a brief introduction, Kristina Young was the first to tell her story; this included her walking away from the girl's restroom only to be attack by Arnold in the abandoned halls. As she told her story, Arnold chuckled to himself and squirmed in his chair.

"He's insane." Derek muttered nonchalantly. "Oh, sorry Basil." A blush appeared on his flawless face.

Basil nodded her head at the boy, assuring him it was alright, and then watched as Ron Weasley makes a statement against the man. Fury was elevating as he spoke; everyone flinched when his voice escalated into almost a scream, well except for Sweets. Rosie was on the stand after her father.

"I was leaving the library; I was studying for a quiz that Professor Coleman was giving us. When I was leaving he came out of nowhere! I deflected a few of the attacks but he caught me off guard when I heard footsteps. I thought more people were coming." Rosie stated with an unexplainable ambition and confidence.

"Objection from the guilty party?" Kingsley asked.

"Why object the truth?" Arnold cackled and shook manically.

Derek replaced Rosie to tell his story, he was furious and emotional as he told his story. A few swear words escaped his mouth as he retold the event but he apologized after every one of her accidents. Basil felt entranced while staring at the ceiling tiles, she couldn't make eye contact with her grandfather, and the tiles were the only thing to pay attention to. Her mind jumbled up with different emotions, mostly anxiousness, until her name bounced from all directions. Basil stood up shakily and made her way to speak.

"I, Basil Sweets, heard Arnold Sweets entire plan to break down the ministry with the involvement of Xavier Aguirre. He said he wanted to kill Annalise Winchester and other people if their parents worked at the ministry. He attacked me and Scorpius but we got away and I defeated him somehow." Basil stated. Her voice was sturdy but her body quaked.

As Basil was dismissed, her eyes journeyed down to where her grandfather was chained. He was smiling rabidly and laughing; he shook violently with every laugh. Fear electrocuted Basil so much that she almost ran back into her seat. The brunette eyes wouldn't leave the floor.

"He turned me to stone, I have a scar, but Basil saved me. I heard his whole confession..." Scorpius continued on with the story of that night.

The guilt emerged from the inside of Basil as she listened to Scorpius; she convinced herself that it was her fault. Her eyes scanned the seemingly flawless face of Scorpius to find the cracked scar that appeared on his cheek; it was whiter than the rest of his face but it was invisible unless you knew where it was or up close.

"Come on Basil, we're done." Harry touched her shoulder and signaled to leave.

They sat outside in a waiting room outside the courtroom; it had a few chairs and sofas for them to sit in but the silence made the room feel unwelcoming. Scorpius sat next to Basil with a bored expression as he played with laces on his shoes. Basil watched impatiently as they waited for the verdict, only to see a strangely familiar face.

"Well you all were surely convincing on the stand." None other than Charles Aguirre said with a chuckle.

What was once a young Charles Aguirre was now an aging humanoid with grey bags under his eyes and straggly brown hair. Yet, his robes were nicely kept with shining sash over his shoulder and it looked as if his clothes were made from silk.

"Professor, what are you doing here?" Anna asked in awe.

"I was in the jury pool. Certainly he won't be going anywhere I can assure you. You've won!" Aguirre cheered happily.

The thousands of pounds that were once on their shoulder were now lifted! Everyone broke into cheers and high fives; even Derek hugged Basil with admiration. Scorpius's cheers turned down a tone and he hugged Basil with one arm. Anna shrieked and pulled both Albus and Basil into a group hug. Harry and Ron stayed in their seats but they smile happily.

"This is amazing!" Rosie exclaimed.

"We're free from him!" Kristina clapped.

"Oh yes, and there's more news for everyone. Mr. Potter told me I had to wait to tell everyone but something exciting will be arriving at school. It will benefit everyone!" Aguirre announced joyfully.

Charles disappeared from the door that he entered in and left the room for the cheering friends. They all chattered to each other what could be returning; Derek hoped for Triwizard Tournament but Harry immediately said no. Rosie hoped for more educational aids like more herbs for herbology or creatures for the electives they would take in third year.

"Come on dad, tell us!" Albus pleaded. James snickered at his brother and ruffled the younger boy's hair.

"Dad won't tell us Al! Must be something important right?" James interjected.

"Well yes. It must stay secret for now but don't worry. You'll learn on the train." Harry assured and stood up.

Suddenly the sounds of screaming and crashing echoed throughout the room. Harry and Ron pulled out their wands and pointed at the door. Scorpius and Albus stood in front of Anna and Basil as a shield while Kristina, Derek, Rosie, and James went to grab their wands also. The door flew open to reveal Kingsley Shacklebolt and Charles Aguirre.

"What happened?" Derek questioned and stood stiffly.

"It's that bloody bastard." Aguirre spat.

"Arnold Sweets?" Ron asked then stepped forward.

"He's escaped! No one can find him." Kingsley announced.

The room became cold and eerie. Everyone turned pale and almost lifeless; no one would move or say anything. Basil felt her heart fall into a vast hole of darkness as tears formed into her eyes, but she blinked them away. Anna turned slightly and threw her arms around Basil.

"I'm sorry, we were so close." Anna cried.

"No, it's okay." Basil guaranteed with a monotone.

That was a giant lie. Basil knew it wasn't okay and it won't be okay until her grandfather was caught. The room started to leave in a line but Basil remained behind with only a slight trudge with Anna; her head throbbed and everything else was numb. Basil knew something had to be done, but not now. _Not now…but it will come. _Basil assured herself and followed in toe with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. _I will capture him I swear._


	5. Train Surprise

**Sorry I haven't updated! I've been away from the internet for probably three or four days but I'll be back on schedule soon. So review and enjoy!**

_Train Surprise_

The events were pushed into the back of kid's mind as they prepared for a special dinner. Basil, Anna, and Scorpius stayed with the Potter and Weasleys till the next morning until their departure to Hogwarts for their second year. Rosie and Hugo were discussing about his first year there while Lily listened in awe and amazement.

"I feel bad for Lily, she really wants to go." Anna sighed. She changed into another dress since they had returned from the Ministry of Magic.

"She's attending next year and she's not missing much." James sneered while rolling his eyes.

Basil helped set the table that suddenly elongated to accommodate the growing number of guests. Victoire, Dominique, and Louis with Bill and Fleur were coming over too. They had to stay the night to be closer to the train station. Once they arrived, they all sat at the table and began talking.

From the pictures Basil had seen, Bill looked the same only with ginger scruff on his face and his hair was only an inch shorter than pictured. Fleur rambled on and on about the upcoming school year and how Louis was so excited to be attending with Hugo. Louis had bright blond hair like his mother but his father's blue eyes; he was the same height as Basil and only a first year. Victoire looked exactly like her mother with her hair kept in amazing braid. Dominque, who loved talking and telling elaborate stories, had all the features of Weasley with bright red hair and brown eyes.

"Papa, tell them about the battle and how you took on the werewolf! Oh my mum has the best stories from the Triwizard tournament. She could've won-oh sorry Uncle Harry." Dominque blushed madly. She was a fourth year.

"This family is bonkers." Scorpius whispered to Basil. He hadn't accommodated to the vast range of relatives just yet.

"It's nice. There's always someone to talk to." Basil replied happily.

"Uncle 'Arry!" Victoire exclaimed in her almost perfect French accent. "Tell us about the surprise!" Bail had noticed that Victoire would try to pull off a French accent for her mother's satisfaction.

"Come on Victoire, it's nothing. Don't bother your uncles about it. It won't even concern you as you're finishing up your seventh year." Bill argued and indulged on his rare steak.

"Don't worry Victoire, he isn't telling me anything either." Ginny laughed and nudged her husband.

"You know he isn't the only one who knows!" Ron interrupted with a bright face.

"Ronald, don't get worked up!" Hermione scolded.

Basil stifled a laugh as the energetic family interacted as if no one else was around. Albus rolled his eyes and made a comment on how weird his family was. Basil finished off her plate and listened to the grownups talks about mundane things; it almost made her wish that her family was like this. Her parents usual stayed quiet and complained about the annoyances in their life. They never did anything together; this was why Basil spent most of her time at Anna's house.

"Will it affect us Uncle Ron?" Louis finally said with a crooked smile.

"Yeah dad! Will it?" Hugo joined.

"I can't say for sure, but it's a big surprise. One of a kind will be joining our school." Ron assured gleefully.

And with that, the conversation stopped with that little explanation. It didn't give many clues to what was about to be sprung amongst them but it was the least of their worries until the following day. After a scrumptious dessert, all the upcoming students went to bed and hoped, or dreaded in James case, for the following day.

Chaos was a word that couldn't come close to describing the next morning. Fleur, Ginny, and Hermione sprinted around the gigantic house, waking everyone up in the process, with their yells and scrambled to pack leftover things for the abundance of children. Basil tried her best to sleep through it but the impact from a fluffy, feathery object woke her up.

"Anna! I swear to-"

"It's not Anna, get up. We'll be late." Scorpius yawned.

The uncomfortable feeling of Scorpius in her room seem to linger even after a brief time of him standing. It was so unfamiliar to Basil that it felt like an intruder watching her shower. Speaking of that, Scorpius's hair was scrambled about and dripping with water, yet he was still yawning.

"Get out then so I can get ready." Basil ordered as she slid from the covers.

Scorpius nodded and left the room as quickly as he came, or at least Basil hoped; only god knows how long he'd been standing there. Basil struggled to get ready and pile all her things in her trunk; it felt as if the morning tiredness wouldn't shake away. _Think of something exciting. _She told herself as she brushed her teeth. _What's exciting? School maybe or even-oh Grandpa. _The memory of the past day slid into her brain as if it was dirty and repulsive.

"Quick breakfast downstairs. We need to leave soon." Anna announced as she jumped from Basil's room then back to her own.

A laugh escaped from Basil's mouth once again; it seemed like laughter was a natural act in her days. This occurred since the Potter's allowed them to stay in their house. Back in Wolverhampton, Brandon and Jasmine remained in their workplace and barely made jokes of any kind; yet Brandon did manage to make Basil laugh when he would blow an electronic up or use a spell incorrectly.

Basil transported her trunk down to the ground floor where the others were lounging with bellies full from a quick feed. Basil passed on the food and sat with her friends; Scorpius was looking extremely out of it while Anna was bubbly as always.

"I can't wait to see Persephone and Meg! Their summers must have been fantastic!" Anna squealed.

"Oh I would hope so. Maybe-"

"No time to waste everyone, let's be on our way." Ron said in an anxious tone.

Hermione told him to be patient and kissed him; Hugo gagged and Rosie smiled dreamily and her eyes went back to where Basil, Scorpius, and James were sitting. Rosie never really talked to them at school, she was seen with her fellow Gryffindor friends, but Basil made a note to talk to her more this year. Basil followed Anna and Albus out the door where they found a small car.

"How will we fit?" Scorpius spat and leaned on the yellow car.

Ron rolled his eyes and slightly pulled out his wand to perform a spell. After he did, the doors flung open to reveal a limo-like inside that had enough room for twice as many people. Scorpius turned a slight shade of red when he moved into the luxurious car; Basil sat next to him then Anna and Albus, the rest followed after.

"Another year at that school, might as well drown now." James muttered. He rolled his eyes and seemed bored.

"James, hush! It won't kill you. Besides, Piper Thomas is riding in our car." Dominque teased with a nasty smile.

"Dom, I swear-"

The two started bickering between everyone and it became entertaining for many of the other family members. Victoire rolled her eyes at her cousin and sister then began a conversation with Rosie; they chatted about the Quidditch and about the surprise coming this afternoon.

"I might try out for Gryffindor but I'm not sure. I have to focus on my studies." Rosie expressed.

"What about Albus?" Victoire looked to her cousin with a smile.

"Possibly, who is the captain?" Albus asked with a shrug.

"Donovan Finnegan. We haven't seen him in a while haven't we?" Rosie answered quickly.

Basil didn't know they people they rambled about, it was mainly family friends of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, so Basil didn't recognize any names. Basil looked to Anna and Scorpius with hope they'd be lost too but Anna nodded in time with Rosie as if she knew who they were talking about and Scorpius was rolling his eyes. Before anymore conversation started, they stopped at Kings Cross.

"We're here!" Hugo clapped. He jumped out of the car with Louis right behind.

"Even Teddy is here!" James cheered.

James rushed to Teddy, who had bright aqua hair at the moment, and began discussing pranks and how boring school would be. Teddy agreed but included something about Hogsmeade and how the year will fly by. All the other Weasley's and Potter's hugged Teddy and ushered to platform of 9 ¾. Anna talked freely to Teddy with no hesitation; this made Basil feel like an outsider as she couldn't even say a simple hello.

"Come on, hurry up! Can't miss the train." Harry reminded. Victoire ran through first with Teddy.

"Not like how we did anyways." Ron laughed then followed Rosie and Hugo.

Basil went right after Albus and then Anna came after. Anna and Albus hurried to find the rest of the family while Basil lingered by the wall; her eyes scanned all the returning wizards and none of them looked her way. _I'm such an outsider…at least they won't say anything about the trial. _Basil stepped forward at the same moment another person came rushing through, almost knocking her over, and pushing both of them several feet with a racing cart.

"Woah there, watch out." An older voice said calmly.

Anna and Scorpius's carts slowed down by a tight grip from another person. When Basil turned she saw a younger looking boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen, with white blond hair and blue eyes. His voice was deep yet foreign as he didn't have a normal British accent.

"Oh thank you so much." Basil expressed. The older boy nodded.

"Of course, just be careful." The boy winked and left.

Basil smiled blissfully as he walked away while Scorpius rolled his eyes. He made an irritable humming noise then began to look for the original group; Basil found them by one of the train cars saying goodbye. When they joined them, Dominque was asking about the surprise again.

"Don't worry Dom, you'll find out on the train." Harry assured.

Ron said goodbye to his kids, nieces, and nephew as they boarded onto the train as Harry was saying goodbye to his kids. Anna, Basil, and Scorpius looked awkwardly at each other, wondering if they should say a goodbye to the adults that took care of them the past few days.

"Basil," Harry said and kneeled in front of her. "This year you have to promise me to not to get into any trouble. With your grandfather on the loose it'll be hard to get a leniency with the teachers. And if he happens to enter the school again, do not-"

"But I beat him before, I can do it again!" Basil interrupted.

"I know, but we can't have anything happen to you. Now, goodbye," Harry placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be safe, we'll hope to hear from you at Christmas."

Basil returned his farewell with a meek smile and nod. Basil felt little warmth in her chest from the exchange with Mr. Potter; it may sound off, but Basil felt a connection to the man. _He knows what I'm going through. _Basil told herself with a smile appearing on her face. From all the stories Albus and James told her, Harry had many hardships with his gaining fame and defeat of You-Know-Who.

"Come on Basil!" Anna cheered.

Anna dragged Basil onto the train, Scorpius in toe, then searched for their friends in a compartment. They found Albus sitting with Persephone and Meg in a lonely compartment; Persephone's big honey eyes caught Anna and Basil and she nearly broke the glass with her screams. Meg rolled her eyes and greeted the two. Scorpius entered to be greeted with awkward silence and cold gazes.

"It's alright guys, Scorpius is our friend." Basil guaranteed.

"Since when?" Persephone spat rudely.

"Since he saved Basil and me from being turned to stone." Anna shot back in a scolding tone.

"Alright, but where's your goons? Peter and Sylvestri?" Meg added.

"They're probably looking for me, but I don't need to associate myself with them anymore." Scorpius explained with a proud smile.

As if they planned it, Peter, Sylvestri, and Tia McGinty entered with scowls and fury in their eyes. Tia gave a deadly glare to Basil and threw open the compartment door. All three entered with arms crossed and looking at Scorpius.

"What are you doing with this filth?" Sylvestri snarled. His bird-like nose was almost stabbing Scorpius as he leaned forward.

"These are my friends. They're much better than you criminals." Scorpius defended.

"So this is what that Basil girl has done to your Scorpy?" Tia screeched. Her voice was high and ear piercing.

"He chose us. I didn't do anything." Basil objected.

"Sweets has a backbone now? How's your bastard grandfather? I bet you love that he's out and killing-"

Basil threw her wand out to attack but she paused as all three jumped back in fear. Basil knew it would be wrong to attack them, but they're horrible and taunting her. She quickly scanned her friends' faces, almost all looked terrified while Albus and Scorpius looked excited. Basil lowered her wand to stop the fight but something strange happened. All three of them were thrown into the air and tossed down the train halls.

"Did you do that?" Anna gasped.

"No! I was putting it away." Basil felt fear surge through her once again.

"Sorry, but that was me." A foreign voice said.

The same boy from before appeared with the same soft grin that greeted everyone happily. All the girls in the compartment ogled at the handsome young man; Anna scooted to another part of the seat and made room to sit next to her.

"I'm Anna, what's your name?" Everyone gazed at the older boy. Well everyone excluding Albus and Scorpius who glared at him with envy.

"I'm Sebastian Dixon, I'm an exchange student. My father is the Norwegian Minster of Magic. "Sebastian explained.

"What are you doing here then? I'm Persephone by the way." Her honey eyes didn't leave his brown ones.

"By me going here, there will be a peace treaty between ministries. Long feud between the two." Sebastian mumbled with his eyes looking down.

"So that's the surprise." Scorpius hissed to Basil.

"Well Sebastian," Basil elbowed Scorpius to make him quiet. "Welcome to Hogwarts, what year are you?"

"I'm a fifth year at the Norwegian Wizarding School." Sebastian smiled at Basil.

"What's it called? I bet my father knows about it." Anna leaned over to catch Sebastian's eyes.

"Uh…well…I don't quite remember…jet lag." Sebastian laughed.

Basil gave the new boy a strange look; _was he being serious? _Basil asked herself and looked to the rest of her friends. Meg, Persephone, and Anna were entranced by Sebastian while Albus and Scorpius were busy with other things. Albus, who was reading, would look up every few seconds to stare down Sebastian and then look at Anna with a sigh.

"I hope you're in Ravenclaw." Meg sighed with big eyes.

"Oh um maybe…I would be better in Gryffindor though. I believe." Sebastian murmured once again and looked away from all of them.

Scorpius made an unfamiliar sound that resembled a snarl mixed with a groan; Sebastian made no acknowledgement of the outburst and continued to smile awkwardly at all the girls in the compartment. Basil looked away and made small talk with Albus and Scorpius, but her mind wandered into darker places. The memory of the trial and her grandfather's cackling echoed back into her head like a recurring nightmare; it was almost painful. Her brown orbs gazed over Sebastian and she smiled meekly at her group of friends. _Hopefully this surprise will be better soon. _


	6. First Night

**My publishing is really off this week but it'll be back on schedule soon! So hope you enjoy and please review!**

_First Night_

The crowded train soon faded into the busy and delicious smelling Great Hall of Hogwarts. Basil, Anna, Meg, and Persephone sat at their Ravenclaw table; they watched the sorting hat ceremony begin and watched the first years join them at last. Basil scanned the surroundings to find Albus sitting with James and Roxanne at Gryffindor table, awaiting new members. Scorpius sat with Ariana Zabini and Isiah Higgs.

"Avon, Justine!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Areola, Bridgett!"

"GRYFINDDOR!"

Basil reminisced on her sorting that was last year and she realized how foolish she was in the beginning of the year. _Why was I so scared? I'm alright now. _Basil assured herself, but she knew that wasn't entirely true. Her grandfather was now a wanted criminal and they could all be in trouble. Nothing was alright; it was the opposite of alright.

"Morales, Juliet." A girl with light brown hair and brown eyes approached the hat.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Everyone at the Ravenclaw table cheered as Juliet took a seat next to a few other first years. Basil looked up towards Victoire, who was finally a seventh year, and saw she was smiling brightly at everyone and waving towards her cousins. Basil glanced over and saw Juliet staring down at her direction.

"Princeton, Apple!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Another set of students took to their seats at the table and they waited, yet again, for the new Weasley's to join and, for Persephone, to eat the delicious food that would be placed in front of them. It seemed like a lifetime, but Hugo was up to the chair. He shook so violently that his thick hair bounced around in all direction.

"Weasley, Hugo."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hugo jumped from his seat and went straight to his cousin, Fred, and sat next to him. Basil saw them hug in excitement and began talking about something; it almost made Basil want a sibling or family member to be at school with her. Her eyes scanned over to Anna, who was focusing on Sebastian, and sighed.

"Weasley, Louis." Louis sat in the seat and beamed a pearly smiled at everyone.

"….uh…HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat stumbled.

McGonagall rolled her eyes and watched Louis join his cousins at Hufflepuff. Everyone turned forward to participate in the feast that was about to come upon them but there was a sharp whistling sound that echoed in the Great Hall. Persephone groaned and Basil giggled at her grumpy friend.

"We have a student a new student joining us this year, Sebastian Dixon. Everyone make him feel welcomed. But first, we must sort him for the year if we want him to feel at home." Coleman yelled from his seat.

Everyone sat straight up and looked forward to Sebastian; all of the girls gazed at him like they were having a beautiful dream. The boys in the hall looked bored as Sebastian went up to McGonagall and sat in the chair; he smiled coolly at all the students but Basil saw he was frightened.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Anna, Persephone, and Meg looked displeased as they began to eat away at the food in front of them. Basil was about to laugh and making a nasty remark to her friends when her eyes caught on Scorpius. Sebastian sat next to him and Scorpius looked furious as Seb kept talking.

"Can you see what they're saying?" Basil whispered to her friends.

"I have no idea." Meg squinted as she readjusted her glasses.

"But isn't he dreamy?" Persephone sighed. Her eyes fixed on Sebastian as she tried to eat but missed her mouth a couple of times.

"He's fifteen guys. He's out of our league." Basil reminded. Her plate was finished while her friends were just stating.

"So? A girl can dream!' Persephone giggled. Anna smiled and agreed.

Basil rolled her eyes at her love stricken friends and took notice to Victoire, the new head girl, who was instructing all the students to go up to the Ravenclaw common room. Anna, Meg, and Persephone noticed also and followed the group into the hallways. Victoire had her cousins, Lucy and Molly, next to her as she instructed the first years where to go and how to get where. Suddenly, Juliet Morales, the first year from earlier, popped right in between Anna and Basil.

"Hello?" Basil looked at the girl strangely.

"I'm Juliet. Are you really Basil Sweets and Anna Winchester?" Juliet asked in a higher pitch.

"Uh, yes we are." Anna replied.

"I've read so much about you in the Quibbler! You two are heroes!" Juliet expressed.

"Thanks. Are you excited to be attending Hogwarts?" Anna asked in her friendly tone.

"Oh yes, I've been waiting all summer…" Juliet went on and on about the classes.

Basil knew Juliet was just like Anna but a little more social in a way. Anna smiled as Juliet talked but she was cut off when they reached the tower. Victoire answered the riddle and let everyone to the common room. Nothing had changed but Hairball sat in her usual place on the couch.

"I swear Basil, your cat is a genius." Victoire laughed and passed the couch.

Basil scooped Hairball from her spot on the couch and followed Anna, Meg, and Persephone up to their room. Juliet said her goodnight and left them after another brief conversation. It didn't take long for everyone to get ready for bed and almost settle into bed.

"Do you think we can see Sebastian tomorrow?" Meg asked to Persephone.

"Maybe, Basil can you ask Scorpius to help us find Seb?" Persephone requested.

"I don't think so. He looked angry before." Basil declared.

Persephone and Meg's voices soon stopped and the shallow breathing filled the room. Anna sat in her bed looking over a book while Basil tossed and turned in her sheets. Hairball hissed and jumped to Anna's bed. Basil's mind was filled with her grandfather's escape and couldn't be strayed from the previous conversation about Dixon.

"Basil, don't even worry. We're safe here, remember?" Anna stated in a calming voice.

Yet the words were cold and made no difference in Basil's emotions. Did she not remember last year? Did Anna forget that they almost died? _She's going crazy…I'm going crazy. _Basil flipped over and stuffed her face into the pillow and waited till sleep came over her.


	7. Water Precautions

_Water Precautions_

Light illuminated the room full of sleeping students; they tossed over as the light bugged their sleepy eyes. A ray of light reflected off of Meg's glasses and towards Basil, who groaned, and flipped over again. Anna sat up in her bed then checked the clock by her bed to realize that it was almost time to go to class.

"Guys! We have class in thirty minutes!" Anna yelped while jumping from her bed.

Persephone rolled out of her bed and followed Anna to the Ravenclaw bathroom. Meg sat up and placed her hair in her neat bun then placed her glasses on her face. Basil watched, with exhaustion still in her system, but she threw herself out of bed to get ready. Basil brushed through her hair as she stood in front of the window, only to notice a strange shadow moving. Basil tried shaking the tiredness from her eyes, but it stayed in a blurry haze.

"What was that?" Meg asked and jumped towards the window.

Basil's eyes finally stabilized as she looked for the figure and saw something horrifying; something out of a horror movie. The window opened up to the Forbidden Forest from which they saw creatures running towards the castle. Hagrid and Headmaster McGonagall appeared also. They were approaching the creatures with swiftness.

"What is that?" Basil gasped.

"I have no idea…some sort of…oh my god…spiders!" Meg shrieked and jumped away from the window in fear.

Meg was right about the spiders. They were giant, almost as big as Hagrid, and they seemed to be talking to Hagrid and McGonagall. Basil felt disgusted by the sight and moved away from the window. Anna walked back into the room, dressed with bag ready, while whistling nonchalantly; she noticed the uneasiness from both of her friends and walked to the window.

"Spiders? We have to ask Hagrid about this later." Anna stated then turned to Basil.

Persephone appeared with a grumpy expression, as they had just missed breakfast, and stood by the door. Basil followed her friends down the stairs when they began talking about Sebastian yet again. They were acting all giggly, which Basil could tolerate so much of.

"His hair though! So messy…I love it." Meg gushed with red cheeks.

"Messy?" Basil asked. The image she remembered was perfect blond hair that was slicked back.

"Yes! It's beautiful." Anna agreed.

Basil kept her silence until they reached their first class, Defense Against Dark Arts. Professor Aguirre gave a look of disgust as they took their seats. Derek Collins took a seat behind Basil, smiling constantly, and tried striking up a conversation. Before Basil could reply, Professor Carrie suddenly entered with her nose up in the air, yet her head was in her ass.

"Sorry Charles, but I have something that is much more important. Attention students," Professor Carrie sneered then glanced at Bail. "Due to the unfortunate news of Arnold Sweets escape, we will have stricter rules for staying out. We don't want any more people murdered! That is all." Her lips curled into a snarl as she left. Basil caught her eyes glaring darts at her.

"Well welcome class. As this year begins, I must tell you all that the mere mention of what happened last year, will be punished. We must move forward from other's coincidental triumphs." Aguirre announced. His eyes burned at Basil and Anna.

The class went on with Aguirre explaining the lesson they would have tomorrow and regular rules about the campus. Aguirre kept glaring towards Basil's direction ever so often and it was obvious to everyone but Anna. Anna smiled brightly at Aguirre while the rest of Ravenclaw looked either scared or disgusted. Basil felt a tight knot in her stomach; everyone was so angry at her, and for no reason at that! Or at least, Basil thought that she didn't so anything.

"We'll handle pixies soon enough-"The bell rang and interrupted the sentence. "Okay students, come tomorrow prepared."

Basil grabbed all her things then sped out of the classroom like a bullet. Anna, Meg, and Persephone followed close behind but talked about Sebastian. Basil exhaled once she stood with her group that was heading to the Great Hall. The pressure from that class made everything harder at that moment; she needed to relax and forget the memory.

"Basil!" A familiar voice called out.

Scorpius appeared, slightly unhappy, with Sebastian. Sebastian wore his Slytherin robes proudly and greeted Basil's friends with a dazzling smile. Basil noticed an uncanny resemblance between Scorpius and Sebastian; same blond hair and blue eyes. _Those blue eyes…._Basil snapped herself out of that weird trance and turned to Scorpius for a favor. Scorpius looked ticked off with cheeks the shade of an apple.

"Scorpius, can we go down to the water?" Basil whispered to her blond friend. "I need to talk some stuff out."

"Let me drop my stuff off. I'll meet you down there." Scorpius agreed.

"Oh Sebastian! Please sit with us." Persephone begged with her honey brown eyes.

"Oh…yes of course!" Sebastian smiled meekly and joined them. All the girls looked as if drool was coming from their mouths.

"I'm sick of him." Scorpius groaned. "All the girls were discussing his eye color this morning. Saying stuff about hazel and green." Scorpius scoffed.

Basil gave Scorpius a puzzling look; _what is he talking about? _Basil wanted to say something but Scorpius said he had to drop his stuff off now. Basil said her short goodbye to her friends and left for the outside of the castle. They had a half an hour till their next class so Basil wasn't too worried about time constraint.

The walk down to the lake was calming and quiet, which was refreshing to Basil, as noise had taken over her life at the moment. Basil was maybe ten feet away from the water when she noticed the pits of mud and slippery grass; she made extra precautions to make sure her shoes didn't get muddy or to slip. Basil threw her bag to the side of the water and sat on a somewhat dry rock, waiting for her friend to finally appear.

"This is nice." Basil said to herself.

Her brown eyes focused on the water as it rippled and around the edge of the rocks. Basil noticed shadows under the water, assuming it was fish, and leaned over the side. The water bubbled and rippled right by the edge; Basil slid her hands across the rock to get a closer looks while trying to distinguish the shadows. Suddenly, something slimy and wet grabbed Basil. All the air vanished around Basil while water entered her lungs. The ambush surprised her so much that she was in a frozen shock. She couldn't even get away from whatever was holding her! All Basil could see was something scaly and something human. _Merperson! _


	8. Rising Tides

_Rising Tides_

Basil fought with the Merperson that held her but it was no use, he or she was too strong. The water burned her lungs and the lake water stung her eyes; the visibility was now weakening and she couldn't reach her wand to perform Lumos. A scream left her lips and the lack of air slowly started to knock her out.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and tugged upwards. The Merperson turned around and gave a loud echo sound towards Basil and her savior; the Merperson released his or her grasp of Basil then retreated deeper into the lake. Basil closed her eyes until the refreshing feeling of air entered her lungs.

"Basil, are you okay?" The familiar voice breathed as he pulled her to shore.

"Yeah I'm fine Scorpius." Basil assured.

Scorpius looked exhausted with his breathes rapid and his hair swished around from the lake water. Basil checked her watch to see they were about to be late for class. _I'm soaked! I can't go to class. _Basil looked back at the lake and saw how calming it was; when in reality it nearly killed her a few minutes ago. Basil turned back to her blond friend, soaked and hair messy, and tried to form words.

"Let's go see McGonagall. This is serious." Basil stated with small coughs.

Both stood up, shaking from the cold, and only took a step forward when the sound of splashing echoed behind them. Basil spun around to see more Merpeople screeching at them and throwing themselves against the shore of the lake. Basil and Scorpius jumped from the sight, nearly falling over, then Basil grabbed Scorpius's hand and sprinted back to the castle. As soon as they entered one of the great halls, Headmaster McGonagall and Professor Celeste walked by.

"Headmaster!" Scorpius called. Both turned and looked horrified at Basil and Scorpius.

"What has happened?" Celeste gasped as she swayed towards Basil.

"The Merpeople in the lake attacked me! Scorpius dove in and saved me." Basil explained with short breaths.

"My word…first the spiders now the Merpeople! Minerva, we need to contact Kingsley!" Celeste whined with a dramatic expression.

"Athena," McGonagall stared down her co-worker. "Malfoy, Sweets, go to your houses and change. I will deal with your teachers. I will assure you that this will not happen again!"

The headmaster turned around with her colleague and ventured down a separate hallway. Basil moved the dripping wet hair away from her back onto her shoulder and tried to squeeze any remaining water out. Scorpius stepped in Basil's view with a meek smile. Yet Basil noticed he flinched when Headmaster said Malfoy. _Is he still upset with his father?_ A tightening appeared in the pits of her stomach.

"You sure you're okay?" Scorpius asked shyly.

"I'm sure. Thanks a lot though, you saved my life." Basil smiled.

Redness rushed to both of their faces and they stood awkwardly facing each other. Basil felt as if she should hug her blond counterpart, but she was sure that the situation would turn awkward. Scorpius stepped a little closer, still stiff, and looked as if he was going to embrace her; this actually ended up Scorpius patting her arm and smirking.

"Well try not to be so vulnerable Sweets." Scorpius scoffed with his signature laugh.

"Scorpius!" Basil yelled with a laugh behind her voice.

Scorpius snickered at Basil's reddening face but didn't say another comment, probably knowing that Basil would hit again. Basil said her goodbye to the blond boy and made her way up the Ravenclaw tower. All she needed to do was change clothes and maybe put her hair up. As soon as she was done, she left for her next class, Potions.

When she entered this classroom, the whole room turned and gawked at the puddles Basil made when she went to her seat. Anna, Meg, and Persephone gave Basil a worried stare but didn't say anything until Coleman was done with his lecture.

"Now this potion is very important and rare. The consumer will drink this and everyone who sees them will see what they want, rather what the consumer really is. What is this potion called?" Coleman lectured. Anna raised her hand.

"It's called the Metamorphous Mixture." Anna answered. Ravenclaw was awarded ten points.

"Correct, now this combines the skills of a siren and a metamorphmagus. Drinking this frequently will mask your true face and they will only see what they want. Remember this! "

Basil entered it into her notes, which began to get wet from her hair, and tried to implant that into her brain for later knowledge. As soon as she looked upwards, she saw Meg and Persephone looking towards her with gaping mouths and wide eyes.

"What happened? Was it Peter?" Meg gasped.

"No, it was Merpeople. They dragged me into the water, but Scorpius saved me." Basil whispered back to her friends.

"You're alright right?" Persephone asked.

"I'm fine." Basil said. Her eyes focused on the cauldron in front of her.

Basil concocted her potion with ten minutes to spare before class ended. She placed the newly made mixture and returned to clean her cauldron where Anna was still throwing in some last few ingredients. After her group was done and the bell had rung, they left to go have dinner.

"Oh Basil I forgot to tell you! Sebastian says he wants me to show him around school so I'll be with him most of the day. Is that okay?" Anna explained with bright eyes. Basil noticed her excitement and that a crush definitely formed between them.

"Yeah sure, I'll just be with Scorpius and Albus." Basil assured.

"Great, now that is settled, time to eat!" Persephone cheered.

All of the other girls laughed at Persephone, but continued on their merry way to the Great Hall. Basil smiled brightly at her friends; this was the one of the time that Basil really relaxed and didn't worry about her Grandfather. The mer thought was actually forgotten throughout the events of today,

As they nonchalantly walked to the Great Hall, Basil noticed the squeakiness of her shoes against the floor and the reflection of puddles as they passed. Persephone dodged each one, hoping to not get her new shoes wet. A shiver went down her spine as she noticed the wet spots, but Basil couldn't figure out why. So Basil shook off the feeling and declared it paranoia; yet the one thing lingered in her mind. _Why is it flooding in September? _


	9. Letters and Sebastian

_Letters and Sebastian_

The next couple of weeks were actually normal, almost to a boring extent actually. Basil attended classes with Meg and Persephone, as Anna was with Sebastian, and Basil talked to Albus and Scorpius during free periods. The only time Basil saw her best friend was during meals and before they went to bed. Basil didn't mind though, she knew this would fade once Sebastian knew his way around the school.

Basil currently sat at breakfast with her friends and their new acquaintance, Juliet. Juliet stammered about flying lessons and how Professor Aguirre always seemed on edge during her class. Basil made no comment and continued to eat her waffles and eggs. Suddenly, Victoire Weasley joined over to their side of the table.

"Good morning Victoire." Anna and Basil greeted.

"Morning, now you all are second years right?" Victoire asked.

"Uh yes, why?" Meg adjusted her classes then gazed at the older girl.

"Quidditch try outs are coming up! We need some new players. All of our old players have graduated." Victoire informed.

"Anna, you'd be an amazing keeper!" Basil stated. Anna merely blushed and laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe we can finally win the Quidditch Cup with her on our team." Meg added.

"Meg, Persephone, you guys are good too." Anna added with a red tint on her cheeks.

"Of course we'll try out too." Persephone agreed.

"Fantastic! Try outs are in two weeks." Victoire said and skipped back to her friends.

Juliet immediately asked about Quidditch rules and how to play the game, which Anna kindly explained. Basil finished off her plate of breakfast and searched the room for Albus and Scorpius. Both boys were talking to each other and making their way to the Ravenclaw table. James was accompanying them, but it looked as if he was making Albus mad. That also led Albus to trip over his own feet once he approached the table.

"What's wrong Al?" Anna asked as her attention drew away from Juliet.

"James won't shut up!" Albus made a face at his brother but James laughed.

"All I want you to do is try out for Gryffindor!" James laughed and patted his brother's back.

"I can't play though! You're the Seeker on the team and I can barely play as a Beater." Albus quickly dismissed his brother and turned to his friends.

"You're right. Even Lily can play better than you. Can't wait till she can play for Gryffindor." James commented.

Albus looked as if he could kill James, but James found a friend of some sort and left right after he made his snide remark. Albus groaned while holding his head, obviously annoyed, but said nothing as Meg tried sparking a conversation with him about trying out for Gryffindor. Scorpius, smirking proudly, looked directly at the group of friends.

"I'll be trying out for Slytherin. We all know how many times they've won-"

"They've won just as many as Gryffindor." Albus added with a frown.

"Doubt it. Basil, are you trying out?" Scorpius asked with his smirk fading.

"No way, I'm not much for athletics." Basil dismissed.

"Oh girls!" An older voice chuckled.

The charming tone of Sebastian's voice overpowered everyone else's; Anna turned and hung onto every word he said. Basil was taken aback to the sudden appearance of the blond boy, as he just appeared out of nowhere. _He can't apperate can he? _Basil thought and stood away from the older boy.

"Anna, can you escort me to my next class; maybe the library after." Sebastian ordered with a dazzling smile.

"Of course Seb. I'll see you guys during class." Anna waved goodbye and left.

Persephone and Meg lifted from their seats then whined about how lucky Anna was and how amazing Sebastian was. Basil was bored with these conversations so she usually left them and went to Scorpius and Albus; their conversation weren't any better as they mainly talked about wizarding bands and sport teams.

"Why do they even like him?" Albus groaned.

"Because they think he's perfect. What do you think Basil?" Scorpius turned to the brunette with a smirk.

"He's nice enough. Anna obviously likes him." Basil commented without a care. Persephone gave her a desperate look.

"But Seb is like sixteen and Anna is twelve." Persephone whined.

Persephone continued on a rant about how Sebastian couldn't like any of them back, which turned into almost crying. Meg agreed with Persephone but tried to calm her down before she broke down in front of the whole school. Basil ignored the scene while Albus and Scorpius watched in what seemed like horror and fascination.

A sudden fluff of red hair and freckles appeared in front of Basil, Albus, and Scorpius. Rosie greeted them with books firmly held in her hands and Albus's friend Theo at her side. Theo, who was sickly skinny, held a letter that had a fancy seal on it.

"Basil, we accidently got this instead of you. It had your name on it." Rosie motioned to the letter.

Basil thanked them and Rosie started a conversation with Scorpius. The whole group left for their next classes while Basil struggled to open the letter; it had a red seal that depicted the Sweets family emblem, a rose plant tangled around a star. Basil was finally able to open the letter and read through it. A smile emerged from her thin lips and her eyes widened.

"Who's it from?" Meg asked curiously.

"It's from my cousins, Ginger and Parsley."

"They're named after plants too?" Rosie questioned.

"It's a family tradition. They just arrived at the Irish school of magic." Basil explained

"Is it nice there?" Persephone asked.

"They said they love it there and they already have a dance coming up." Basil replied.

Basil tried to slide the letter into her bag but Persephone intercepted it and read through it frantically; Meg looked over her shoulder and gasped with excitement. Scorpius made a snide comment about the girls that went unnoticed, but backed away from the familiar group.

"Why don't we have a dance? It's a party right? With music and food?" Persephone huffed.

"We're too busy with exams and school work for that." Rosie argued and grabbed the letter.

"Well, we'll see about that." Persephone said fiercely.

Persephone and Meg darted down the hallway, leaving the rest of the group wondering what was going through their heads. Rosie, Juliet, and Theo said their goodbyes and left for their separate class that was down a different hall. Albus stayed behind and turned towards Basil to say something, only to be interrupted. A mess of stunning blond hair and blue eyes appeared yet again with a pearly white smile.

"Sebastian? I thought you went with Anna? Where'd you come from?" Basil spat out. She spun to look from where the foreign boy came from.

"Anna left for Herbology and I found you. Will you take me to Celeste's class?" Sebastian asked with a suave tone.

"Sorry, I have to go to Herbology too. Longbottom may not accept my excuse this time." Basil apologized and readjusted her bag.

"Come on, it wouldn't hurt-"

As Sebastian was talking, he swiftly grabbed Basil's arm in a death clutch. Basil pulled backwards but his hold was stronger than hers. Scorpius and Albus drew out their wands and pointed them to Sebastian's back; Sebastian loosened his hold and returned to his composed posture.

"Goodbye friends." Seb chuckled.

Sebastian strolled behind them and towards another hallway. Basil, frozen, stared at her two friends with no words to convey how disturbing and bizarre the situation just was. Scorpius placed a hand on Basil's back and softly ushered her towards the Herbology classroom.

"You two will be late, I can go by myself." Basil assured. Her voice finally came back with no stutters or shaking.

"That freak show is obviously after you. I'm not leaving you alone." Scorpius replied as if Basil was a child.

"He's definitely up to something." Albus agreed.

Basil thanked and hugged both her friends once they were at classroom. A strange knot in her stomach made her feeling even worse about the recent incident. Basil wanted to say something, but she didn't want to keep them there for very much longer. Both boys left to go to their first classes, leaving Basil to enter the classroom alone.

The bell had just rung when she sat in her seat that overlooked Anna and Meg with Persephone next to her. _I have to tell them. _Basil was sure it was the right thing to do but something bothered her about the incident. Maybe they overreacted? Maybe Sebastian wasn't use to their customs? It was certain to Basil that she shouldn't mention it and only refer it to Scorpius and Albus.

"Pss, Basil…wanna watch try outs in two weeks?" Persephone whispered as Longbottom passed out pots.

Basil agreed with a meek grin on her face. Persephone went back to work on her assignment as did Basil; they had to pull out some Mandrakes from their pots. Basil placed her earmuffs on and continued with her work, trying to make the incident disappear from her memory. _At least Quidditch sounds fun._

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I would love it if you reviewed! Thanks xx**


	10. Try Outs

_Try Outs_

After two stressful weeks of preparation and purchasing of brand new brooms, the try outs were today. Basil joined Anna, Meg, and Persephone to the Quidditch field where they would be watched by Victoire Weasley. Anna was going for Keeper, Meg wanted Beater, and Persephone wanted to be a chaser.

"What if I can't hit the Bludger?" Meg gasped and held her broom closely.

"Meg, you're probably the strongest girl, maybe even person, in Ravenclaw." Anna assured. Meg did have major upper body strength.

"In physical strength. We all know Basil is stronger than all of us with magic." Persephone commented.

"Don't say that."

Basil gave her friends a glare but continued on their path to the Quidditch stadium. _Anna is definitely better than me. So are Persephone, Meg, and Albus. _Basil looked forward at the field to see green scarves and ties. _Scorpius isn't too bad with his wand also. _

"Who else is trying out for Ravenclaw?" Anna asked.

"Derek is, but he wants to be a Chaser. So is Molly and Lucy Weasley; Molly wants to be Chaser and Lucy wants to be Keeper. Better watch out for her Anna." Persephone listed.

"So Victoire is our Seeker and we need one keeper, two beaters, and three chasers. I think there's a probability we could make it." Meg added.

Basil tightened the blue scarf around her neck as a gag; Anna held back a laugh and told her to cut it out. There was a sudden rush of green scarves and accessories' leaving the stadium, one of them was a familiar blond haired boy. Basil went to wav e to Scorpius, only to see he was stomping away with a frown on his face.

"Scorpy!" A high pitch voice yelled out.

Tia McGinty was running after him like a madwoman. Scorpius started dashing towards the castle looking very distressed. A part of Basil wanted to go and follow him, but she knew she had to cheer on Anna and the others. Once they entered, Basil took a seat in the stands and watched as everyone lined up.

"First we will have try outs for Chasers!" Victoire announced.

Basil watched as Molly, Derek, and Persephone shoot into the air and did circles around the field. They did some tossing back and forth and then some free shots in the goals. Basil never realized how boring Quidditch was until she had to endure replays of the same throws and catches. Well that wasn't true, she fell asleep at a game last year too.

"Basil! My dear friend." A foreign voice greeted. Sebastian smiled at Basil.

"Oh hello Sebastian." Basil replied monotone. He still scared her a bit since the last time she encountered him.

"I wish I could've tried out. Slytherin needs some better players, your friend Scorpius actually fell off his broom."

Basil was shocked to say the least. From how Scorpius described himself, he sounded like he should be a professional. Of course Basil knew he had to be exaggerating a bit, but to fall off his broom? That must've been a surprised for both of them. Sebastian went on and on about how Persephone needs to keep her head down and how Molly is the slowest of the bunch.

"That Victoire girl…nasty one isn't she? All that beauty for a horrible personality and poor Quidditch skills." Sebastian spat with a chuckle.

"Sebastian, I wouldn't say that considering she's a Weasley and a very powerful witch." Basil reminded.

The suave boy she first saw at the platform was now turned into a horrible excuse of a surprise. _He's not too important is he? _Basil watched as the Chasers retired back down to the ground and watched as they tested Meg, Derek, and a few others for Beaters. Meg hit the bludgers with an amazing amount of force that almost knocked Derek, who was catching them, to fall off his broom; luckily he caught himself before the broom flew from underneath him.

"Anna, your turn!" Victoire instructed.

Anna flew up into the air and took post at the goals. Victoire instructed Molly to throw the Quaffle into all the goals and see if Anna could block all of them. Anna started off well, dodging and flying swiftly through the air. Molly zipped around the goal posts and threw the last Quaffle at the right post; Anna speedily flew towards it and hit it barely with the edge of her broomstick. The Quaffle went flying out of the field.

"I'll get the Quaffle. All of you get to the ground!" Madame Payne ordered roughly.

All the students grounded their brooms while Madame Payne took to the sky and went towards the direction of the lost ball. Basil considered going to the ground but she was afraid of being told off by Victoire or Madame Payne. Suddenly, there was a sound of rushing water and screeching. All the entrances of the stadium quickly let in a huge wave of water that filled the field in an instant.

Basil jumped from her seat and looked down at where her friends once stood; luckily they made it onto their brooms and into the air in time. As she turned, Basil noticed that Sebastian had disappeared once again. _No time for that!_ Basil noticed the water rising at a hazarding rate towards her seat and she had no way to escape.

"Basil! Grab on!" Victoire yelled out.

Victoire flew past Basil and stretched out her hand. Basil threw out her hand and grabbed onto the blonde's before the water reached her level. Basil situated herself on the broom and watched as their field was submerged under what looked like polluted lake water. Victoire did circles trying to find a source, but the lake didn't make a watery path towards the field in any way.

"Madame Payne and Professor Celeste are here!" Persephone exclaimed.

Both sped towards the field and performed a number of spells to remove the water. Soon enough, the water was drained and no damage was done but a little bit of misshaped grass and terrain. All the students landed outside the doors and gathered around to yell and worry about what had happened.

"Are you okay Basil?" Derek Collins asked. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm fine Derek, thanks." A blush appeared on her cheeks.

"What happened?" Anna asked and rushed to her best friend.

"Someone put a spell on the field. Whoever it was though, will be in big trouble!" Madame Payne demanded.

The older women stomped off with Professor Celeste swaying behind her. Victoire announced that she would post who will be playing later today. Soon, Derek, Molly, Lucy, and the other Ravenclaws left with smiles on their faces. They left only Basil and Anna standing alone and looking awkwardly at each other.

"That was strange. At least they'll find the culprit." Anna said quietly. Her hand shook around her broomstick.

"Could it be-" Basil stopped herself.

"Who? Your grandpa?" Anna replied with a frown.

"Yeah, maybe." Basil looked down at her feet. "Well Sebastian was here-"

"What? Sebastian wasn't there. He told me he was studying all day." Anna dismissed and walked forward.

"No! He was sitting next to me, I swear." Basil demanded. Anna shook her head.

"Basil, Sebastian wouldn't lie to me." Anna stated.

A bewildered expression glazed over Basil's face as she stared at Anna. The once conventional and rational girl that Anna was now sculpted into an impressionable doll that had definitely fallen for Sebastian Dixon. Basil bit her tongue and swore to not upset her best friend.

"Basil! Anna!" A male voice called out. It was Albus accompanied by Scorpius.

"Sorry, I have to go." Anna hung her head low and continued off the path.

Basil's stomach twisted into a knot as she watched her best friend leave. _I can't believe her. _She thought bitterly. Albus and Scorpius approached Basil, yelling about some danger or flooding incident; Basil assumed they found out by Victoire or that news travels fast in Hogwarts.

"It might've been my grandpa if he's back or maybe even a prank by Peter or Tia. Sebastian was there too, Anna doesn't believe me. But he disappeared once the field started flooding." Basil stated.

"Maybe it was Sebastian. He's a little prick. We need to go to McGonagall." Scorpius's face turned slightly red and he clenched his hands. Basil knew his accusations were downright out of nowhere, but he may be going down the right path.

"We have no proof that Sebastian did it though!" Albus reminded with a knowing glare.

"Still, we have to tell her something is going on." Basil agreed.

Albus nodded to his friends and they made their way into the castle. Basil was tense to say the least; she knew something evil had to be happening. _Is Grandpa back? _Fear that she once forgotten returned; if her grandfather was back, that could mean more attacks on the students. _No, it can't be! _Basil stopped dead in her tracks as they approached Headmaster's office. Her vision began to fog and her hands shook.

"Basil, what's wrong?" Albus questioned. His green eyes scanned her rapidly.

Basil's brain thumped and pounded against her skull like it was about to explode. Her knees gave from underneath her and she held her head as if to keep it in place. Scorpius dropped next to her and screamed her name, but Basil couldn't reply. The voices of friends and the sight of the walls of Hogwarts were replaced with darkness and the sound of echoes of screams. The screams soon turned into names of spells and something that she couldn't quite focus on. Basil fell onto her back and scanned around her, the darkness was gone but everything was blurry. Scorpius and Albus's faces were the last thing she saw before passing out on the cold, damp floor.


	11. Making Promises and Progress

_Making Promises and Progress_

"Leave the girl alone! For Merlin's sake she just passed out!" Madame Paige whined.

Basil tilted her head towards the source of the sounds to see Scorpius, Albus, and Anna fighting with Madame Paige. A groan escaped Basil's lips, it was meant to be a hello but words weren't able to form. Anna noticed the sound first and nearly knocked the bed over when she ran towards Basil.

"They said you passed out. What happened? Was it…a vision?" Anna asked under her breath.

"I don't know. I heard screaming and everything was black. I heard a man's voice yelling Protego and…I don't recognize the other. Then there was something about a locket." Basil sat up quickly and held her head.

"Do you know what could have caused it?" Albus inquired. He leaned towards Basil.

"Enough! Leave the poor girl alone." Madame Paige pulled out her wand.

Anna, Albus, and Scorpius were thrown backwards into chairs that surrounded the bed. Madame Paige went back to working on someone else a few beds away, leaving the four kids to talk in whispers.

"It was another vision, like last year." Anna assured.

"I'm not a seer Anna." Basil disputed. Basil unreeled the bandages around her head and sighed. "Did you talk to McGonagall?"

"Are you kidding me? You nearly died on the floor, of course not!" Scorpius raised his voice that made Madame Paige walk over.

"Other students are here. I would appreciate-"

The doors of the infirmary opened abruptly to reveal none other than Headmaster McGonagall and Harry Potter. Harry looked as if he had been running in a storm while McGonagall looked at the group with horror.

"Arista, leave this to us, please. It's urgent." McGonagall instructed. Madame Paige did as she was told and returned back to work.

"What happened? Neville contacted me with floo powder and I hurried here." Harry asked and stared down at Basil.

"How long have I been out?" Basil whispered to Scorpius. His eyes scanned upwards then back to Basil.

"About two hours."

"Please, focus! This is urgent business." McGonagall exhaled. Her eyes looked annoyed yet worried.

Basil knew this wasn't normal; no way would Harry Potter and Headmaster McGonagall bother to run all the way down to her if it wasn't important. _Maybe they think it's about my grandpa…or maybe about the lake? Only Merlin knows. _Basil situated herself upright so she could explain herself to the adults.

"We were coming to see you Headmaster. Right before we got to the door, I collapsed. I saw darkness and heard screaming. Then I heard a man yelling spells like Protego and something else. Crusio? Cruno?"

"Cruciatus Curse. Anything else?" Harry questioned. His eyes were dark and concentrated.

"Something about a locket." Basil held her head and breathed slowly.

"What were you coming to see me about?" McGonagall inquired. The tense atmosphere was slowly creeping away.

"Strange things have been happening. The field was flooded, a Merperson attacked me, and who knows what else. "Basil slid from her hospital bed and stretched.

"We'll look into it." McGonagall said simply. She stood stiffly and inched towards the door.

"Headmaster, it could be like last year." Scorpius added.

"You are all so young…don't worry about this nonsense. Please, you're only children."

With that, Headmaster McGonagall left the infirmary, leaving the tension and worries lingering in the air. Harry ran his fingers through his already messy hair and stared down at his son and his friends; Basil felt his eyes piercing through her and knew he was thinking of her. Basil stood closer towards Scorpius and Anna as Harry stepped closer to his son.

"She's right about that. You're only children. You can go back now." Harry sighed.

"Dad, we handled it last year-"

"Albus, not this year. Stay away from whatever is going on here. It's not your responsibility." Harry ordered as his voice got louder than Basil had ever heard it.

"I'm sorry Dad. I'll see you at Holiday." Albus replied quietly.

Harry hugged Albus and kissed his head. Albus stood stiffly until his father left him with his friends. No one said anything, maybe because there was nothing to be said. Basil had no clue of what could be happening and she assumed no one else did either. Even if they did, Basil knew Albus would stray them away from any idea; Harry seemed serious this time and no way was Basil interfering with that.

The weeks had passed and no explanation was revealed about the flooding, the Merpeople, or how Basil collapsed in front of the Headmaster's office. Basil was currently finishing up her Defense Against Dark Arts work while Anna dazedly read through a book about water charms and spells. The past few weeks were filled with Quidditch games and practices that took more time from their day.

Thankfully, Anna made it as Keeper, Meg and Derek were Beaters, Molly, Lucy, and Persephone were Chasers, and Victoire was their Seeker. They had won their games against Hufflepuff and almost tied with Slytherin; this caused a celebration in the Ravenclaw tower, which included a small get together with every candy you'd find in the Wizarding World. Basil considered a nice change of things that no parties were thrown or loud cheers. That didn't last long though. Almost right after Basil thought that, there was a sudden explosion of squeals and cheering when the door of Ravenclaw common room opened.

"Anna, Basil, we've got great news!" Persephone nearly screamed as she entered. Meg was close in toe.

"Did Aguirre postpone the homework?" Basil asked hopefully, eyeing her messily done parchment.

"Nope, better!" Meg claimed and jumped into an empty chair.

"We talked to McGonagall and she's agreed that we can hold an end of the year dance! Well it's in March, but still the same!" Persephone cheered. "All thanks to Basil Sweets." Anna jumped from the couch and squealed with Persephone.

"Why thank me?" Basil gasped and stood from her chair.

"You gave me the idea when you were talking about your cousins. We're thinking of having it in May. Also we must have dates-"

Basil toned out of the conversation after that word and piled her work up into her bag. Her three friends started a heated discussion on who they think would ask them out. Anna would bring up Basil, but she ignored her name in every sentence. Basil looked to her watch and saw it was 8:30; just early enough to catch Albus or Scorpius leaving the library.

Basil threw a sweater over her blue shirt and left to hopefully find her friends. The halls were almost at ankle level filled with water. This occurred a week ago and no one could figure out how to get rid of it, as it reappeared in an hour. Yet this didn't stop Basil as she stumbled around, looking for blond or messy hair. Luckily, both boys were leaving down a corridor just in time for Basil to see them.

"Scorpius, Albus, wait up!" Basil called out with a laugh. Both boys turned and smiled.

"Basil, shouldn't you be in Ravenclaw tower?" Albus asked with a half-smile.

"Persephone, Meg, and Anna are screaming about a dance they're planning. I couldn't get anything done." Basil explained with a roll of the eye.

"Right, well I probably won't be able to sleep either. Gryffindor is celebrating their win against Slytherin tonight. James, of course, is smuggling in Firewhiskey." Albus sighed and rolled his shoulders back.

"Hey, isn't that Sebastian?" Scorpius muttered with a low tone.

Basil and Albus turned to see Sebastian walking out of a door down the hallway. All three of them hid behind the corner of their hallway and watched the foreign boy trot along the flooding ground. Suddenly, Sebastian stopped in his tracks, scanning around the hallway, and pulled his wand from his jacket pocket. In an instant, he disappeared from where he stood, only leaving puddle ripples from where he stood.

"Is he invisible or did he just apperate?" Albus gasped and stood from his hiding place.

"There's no splashing of footsteps. He definitely went somewhere else." Basil exhaled.

There was a sudden rush of cold air when all of a sudden, the water level raised about a foot. Basil's jeans were now drenched from the knee down and there was no way from escaping the watery way back to Ravenclaw tower. Albus and Scorpius groaned about their sneakers while Basil threw her bag out of the water. It was even worse because the water was probably made from the snow outside the dropped the temperature about five degrees.

"Can't be a coincident can it?" Scorpius looked towards his friends with an annoyed expression.

"Probably not, but for now we need to leave it for the Aurors." Albus spat bitterly.

"Right, well I'll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight."

Both boys said their goodnights before trudging down the corridor for their common room entrances. Basil sloshed around in the water, making her way to the tower, with her mind scattered with ideas and theories. _Maybe Sebastian is actually my grandfather in disguise! No, I would know if it was him and that's just plain dumb. _The common room door opened to reveal Hairball sprawled out next to the fire. Basil went directly to bed, not acknowledging her own feline, and tried to relax her brain. It didn't take quite as long as she thought before sleep took over and she would have to leave for holiday the next morning. Yet something about the previous scene stuck out in her mind, yet she couldn't quite figure it out. All she remembered was wet floors and a strange amount of doors.

**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy and review. **


	12. Christmas Night

_Christmas Night_

Snow blanketed majestically the outside of the Winchester house that was also decorated with fairy lights that resembled the colors of red, white, and green. It was about eleven at night on Christmas; the fireplace emitted dark smoke and lit the living room that held Basil and Anna. Basil sat by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, while Anna played around with the stockings that hung on her stairway.

"Master's friend wants more cocoa?" Lolly, the house elf, asked quietly.

"No thank you Lolly. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Basil asked sweetly. She lifted the cocoa to her lips and sipped happily.

"Lolly must serve Master and her friend. Lolly clean presents for morning." Lolly replied. The tiny elf adjusted the flower behind her ear.

"Lolly, you can go rest. You've been up all day preparing for Christmas dinner, which was delicious." Anna assured, joining her friend by the fire.

"Thank you Master Anna." Her high voice sobbed.

Lolly left for her room upstairs, leaving Basil and Anna to play around with their newly received presents. Basil received an abundance of chocolate frogs and Weasley Wheezes from her family and only one large present from them, which happened to be a personal broom; Basil found no need for one, but she was happy to have one. Both girls were sent sweaters, pies, and an assortment of pictures from Albus. Persephone and Meg had sent the both of them dresses and necklaces like the year before.

"Did you send Scorpius anything?" Basil asked in a hushed voice. It suddenly dawned on her that they never discussed presents for the Malfoy.

"Yes, I did actually. I sent him some chocolates and these robes I found. I thought he'd need them for the dance in the spring." A smile landed on her face as she scanned Basil. "What did you get him?"

"Oh…uh it's stupid now. I got him a locket…it had a snake on it. I thought he'd appreciate it." Basil admitted.

A faint blush covered Basil's cheek once she described the gift she sent Scorpius. Now thinking about, Basil thought it was a dumb idea, but in that moment she thought it would be perfect. The snake was even painted green! Basil sipped on her hot cocoa peacefully with Anna blissfully mumbling about Hogwarts.

"Master! Master, it's chaos!" Lolly screamed. She sounded as if she was sobbing.

"Lolly what's wrong?" Anna spun to see Lolly covered in tears.

"Delaney wrote to me," Basil remembered the name as a house elf that worked at Hogwarts. "The lake monster! Oh the lake monster! It has attacked teachers, students, and elves!" Lolly cried while throwing herself on the floor.

"Oh Lolly, it'll be okay. I'm going to call friends there, okay? I'll make it okay." Anna assured.

Anna rushed to the magical fireplace to place a special call to none other than the Potters. Basil watched in amazement as the faces of Albus, James, and Harry appeared in the once normal log. Albus looked delighted, throwing himself closer to the flames, while James and Harry merely smiled and waved.

"Mr. Potter, have you heard the news from Hogwarts?" Anna quickly said. "Oh and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Is this about the monster attacks? I've heard a great deal about these." Harry replied solemnly. "We have a team of investigators going into the lake the next couple of days."

Basil, who once saw Anna next to her, now saw pitch blackness everywhere; she didn't feel as if she passed out, just out of it. A hushed voice seemed to whisper right behind her, but no one was there, or at least she didn't see anyone. The words came to here in little chunks. _Locket…water…resurrection…Triton. _There was a sudden snap and Basil was back in the Winchester living room; it looked as if no time had changed.

"Mr. Potter, do you…is there something called Locket of Triton?" Basil asked wearily.

"Oh…oh no, how do you know about that?" A sense of panic was thrown in Harry's words.

"I can't explain it, but the words just came to me right now." Basil admitted shyly.

Harry, imprinted in the fire, looked nervously at his children then back at Basil and Anna. The pause seemed to last forever, reality was it was only a minute, as Basil felt what she said was forbidden or curses.

"Yes, it's part of forbidden ritual. With the Locket of Triton and three other objects, you can resurrect any deceased person." Harry took a long pause yet again. "It would make sense. Locket of Triton is hidden in water, makes any sea animals go blood thirsty, and even changes patterns in water stability. It's very dangerous magic." His voice became calm, but Basil saw distress in Harry's eyes.

"Dad, what are the other objects?" Albus asked quietly. He turned to his father and away from the fireplace.

"Locket of Triton, tears of a Veela, Bell of Faith, and Lion Diamond. Each represents a different trait. Power, beauty, hope, and bravery." Harry placed his hands through his roughly hair. "Who would do this?" His voice was soft like he was scared.

"Dad, it's obvious. It's the bastard Arnold!" James snapped.

"James, don't talk like that!" The female voice of Ginny echoed.

"Bigger question, who does he want to resurrect?" Harry sighed with his lips turning into a line.

Basil looked towards the window, where her house stood just feet away, where memories of her Grandpa sitting around and muttering about ministry. Never once did he talk about a deceased person he'd want back. Never. Basil gasped loudly as the memory hit her like a bus. It was those disgusting words he mutter a year ago; the only person he'd ever compared to and wished the ministry was like. The only wizard that could cause so much destruction in just the mer mention of his name.

"What is it Basil?" Albus questioned, pressing himself closer.

"Lord Voldermort. He's going to resurrect Lord Voldermort."

No one made a sound, not even Lolly who sobbed over dropping a crumb. Anna looked terrified, Albus astonished, James confused, and worst of all, Harry Potter destroyed. Basil knew her words would crush all the happiness out of the man, but she needed to reveal this information. _Why is no one saying anything? _Basil thought worriedly as her eyes closed and her hands clenched.

"You know what Basil…I think you're right."


	13. Information and Confrontation

_Information and Confrontation_

Harry Potter looked at them with an intensity Basil had never seen before. The look in his eyes was a mixture of despair and worry; Basil felt her heart drop as the thought of Lord Voldermort being reincarnated anytime now. Anna adjusted herself away from the fireplace to say something in a low voice to Lolly.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't worry Basil. I'll have to inform the Ministry. Goodnight." Harry said in a low voice.

James quickly followed his dad through whatever exit they had, leaving only Basil, Anna, and Albus to talk through the fireplace. Lolly also left, with tears brimming her softball like eyeballs, to attend to business upstairs. Basil looked to her friends, frown on her face, unable to make words.

"Basil, never mind what I said about staying out of this. We have to stop this." Albus stated in a serious tone that Basil only recognized when Anna was in danger last year.

"We don't even know how though, Al." Anna sighed.

"We didn't know how last year, but you figured it out Anna. You figured out my dreams and that Ministry kids were being attacked. With you, we can." Basil reminded, a smile finally gracing her face.

"I can't! I'm helping Sebastian and playing Quidditch." Anna refused. Both Basil and Albus looked almost appalled at her statement.

Basil never thought in a million years that Anna would refuse to help her, especially if it was a life or death matter! _It's Lord Voldermort we're talking about!_

"Anna, you can't be serious. We are talking about Lord Voldermort here." Albus stated angrily.

"I'm sorry! I just can't. I know you two will figure it out though." Anna assured.

Anna stood from where she was sitting, almost to prove a point, then stomped off into another room. Basil sighed, her anger slowly disappeared, and looked to Albus, who looked extremely ticked off. Albus shuffled closer be in the view of Basil and began ruffling his hair.

"I can't believe her! Stupid _Sebastian." _Albus mocked. "I have no idea what she sees in that scumbag-"

"I know Albus! But she's off in her own little world. We just have to solve this ourselves." Basil agreed.

"Merlin, I swear I could just punch him! I can't believe Anna likes him! Why him? Why not-"Albus cut himself off and looked away. Basil stared at him softly with an open mouth. She finally realized what Albus was going to say.

"Al, do you like Anna?" Basil gasped.

"Yes-well no. I mean…yeah. I do, but just don't talk about it. It's nothing." Albus mumbled with embarrassment gracing his face.

Basil was surprised to say the least; never would she think that Albus would like Anna. Well now that she thought about it, she could've seen it coming. Basil tried to stray from the idea of her best friends dating; it seemed absurd at this moment in time. _We're so young though! What's up with these guys?_ Albus yawned loudly, which made Basil focus back on talking to him.

"So I guess we'll look up more about the locket at school." Basil stated awkwardly. Sleep was about to take over her senses.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Albus sighed and decide that it was time to go to sleep. Basil agreed, turning the fireplace off, then returning upstairs to go to sleep. Anna was lying in bed, obviously knocked out, with a book at her side and a pullout right next to her. Basil placed Anna's book on the side table with a roll of an eye. Then she finally threw herself to bed, restraining a groan, and slowly drifted asleep.

The days flew by almost in an instant and before they knew it, they were sitting back in Professor Carrie's class taking notes. Carrie went on a rant about idiotic students as she stared down both Basil and Anna. _What is her problem? First Aguirre now Carrie! _Basil looked down at her assignment and continued writing her sentence. Finally, after a whole class time rant, the bell rang, letting all the kids out for lunch.

Anna threw her things back in her bag and shuffled away from the class. Basil groaned to herself as she trotted off to meet Albus and Scorpius; _she's probably meeting Sebastian. _Basil thought bitterly. Both boys sat outside the Great Hall, books in hand, with bright smiles to greet Basil. It was a nice change of things for Basil, as the last few weeks were filled with stress of Locket of Triton and Anna obsessing over Sebastian.

"Basil listen to this," Scorpius began. "The Locket of Triton is a powerful relic that affects aquatic life- like Merpeople- and rising of tides."

"So that explains everything that's been happening, but why is it here? If the locket was here before, why hasn't this been happening before this year?" Basil questioned.

"Oh I think I may have that." Albus added. "The Locket of Triton was made by a wizard named Triton, who was also half siren. Triton had an amazing power over the Merpeople and other aquatic creatures. Yet, Triton was afraid of losing his power so he relocated all of his power and magic into a locket that he made; Triton was going to pass it onto his son, but he died before he could pass the locket down." Albus read.

"So how that does that explain why it's here?" Basil inquired.

"It says here that the locket was disposed into the underground caverns of a top secret location. It is surrounded by spells that are hundreds of years old to keep it under control. I believe that these caverns are in the lake and something, or someone, broke the spells." Albus explained.

A herd of students filled the hallways, mostly familiar faces, chatting away with the same topic on their minds. Basil tried to form an affirmative sentence to reply to Albus, but the topic of the dance kept ringing in her eardrums. A sigh stuck in her throat as she thought of Anna cheering about it. Basil truly missed her best friend.

"Yeah, that seems good." Basil agreed morosely.

"I bet Anna would've backed it up somehow. She's always good at this." Albus added. A frown covered his face.

"Guys! It's Anna's fault that she's obsessed with lover boy. Let's focus on what's important here." Scorpius reminded.

Basil knew Scorpius was right, yet she felt some sort of despair in her heart; she wished that Anna would begin helping them again. Though she felt pitiful deep down, she smiled to the blond haired boy and nodded. That's when she noticed something hanging lowly on his neck; it was the snake locket Basil had sent him.

"You're wearing the locket I gave you?" Basil asked blissfully.

"Yeah, I've worn it ever since I opened it." Scorpius replied happily.

A blush covered both twelve year olds faces, while smiles to reciprocate the happiness in their hearts. Albus made a motioning gesture to eat lunch so they followed what he suggested. The three entered the Great Hall for lunch and agreed to regroup after their final classes. Persephone and Meg sat with Juliet and Derek, giggling about the dance, but greeted Basil the same. Basil piled a small amount of food on her plate to eat quickly in hope to catch up with Anna miraculously.

"Are you going to the dance Basil?" Derek asked coolly.

"Um probably not. Depends on homework and exams." Basil lied. She didn't want to attend the dance at all.

"Oh, well if you decide to go, I'll be there." Derek laughed casually.

Persephone began squealing about dresses or something of that sort, but Basil zooned out. Her eyes caught Professor Aguirre stumbling up to McGonagall, scowl on his face, with his mouth moving at a rapid rate ; McGonagall didn't look as if she heard him or cared about what he was expressing. Basil tried reading his lips, failing terribly, when hands grabbed her shoulders.

"My dear!" A wispy voice whispered. "I've been meaning to talk to you." Basil turned to see the divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, gasped.

"Uh, hello? How do you know me?" Basil asked awkwardly.

"Come with me dear."

Basil looked to her friends with terror in her eyes, but she still followed the teacher out into the halls. Basil saw Albus and Scorpius watch her, which gave her a sense of relief knowing they knew where she was going. Knowing that Albus and Scorpius were watching her gave her a sense of safety; she knew they would keep her safe/

"How do you-"

"My dear, you're known throughout the school! I've also heard you're an amazing seer!" Professor Trelawney cheered.

"Uh no I'm not. Sorry to disappoint." Basil dismissed.

"Your visions make you a seer, my girl! I must advise you to take my class next year to harness your true potential." The older women glowed with excitement.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to 'harness' any potential." Basil argued with a formal tone. It took all restraint from blowing up.

"So you admit you're a seer!" _Oh lord. _Basil thought bitterly. "You're part of the Sweets and Peacock family right? My dear, haven't you seen your crest? A rose vine and stars."

"Yes, I know." Basil replied with annoyance. She concluded that this professor was insane.

"The rose vine symbolized your father's side, the Sweets, of great knowledge of herbology-"

"I'm alright in that class. Talk to Professor Longbottom, I'm not exceptional." Basil interrupted, patience cutting short.

"And your grandmother is Astrid Peacock!"

"I've never met her." Something about talking about her grandmother made it more uncomfortable and frustrating.

"Yes, oh yes I know. Yet, you cannot deny the seer blood in you!" Professor Trelawney sighed.

"Yes, I've heard this story. My grandmother was an amazing seer and helped many in the first war against Voldermort, but she left." Basil rolled her eyes. _How crazy is this woman?_

"Yes! Which is why the star symbolizes-"

"Nothing. I'm sorry Professor, but everything you're saying is not true. I have to go to class." Basil stated.

Professor Trelawney pouted then trotted away back to her study. Basil went straight to her seat to retrieve her books from where she sat before, only to see Scorpius and Albus waiting for her. They both looked at her, concerned, yet smiling.

"What was that about?" Scorpius asked. He picked up Basil's bag and gave it to her.

"Some rubbish about being a seer. Let's get to class." Basil demanded.

Albus and Scorpius kept their mouth shut about the confrontation that happened, yet they talked about some nonsense about Potions. Basil felt an off bubbling coming from the pits of her stomach. The Locket of Triton reappeared into her mindset and wouldn't leave her thoughts. _What if we can't find it? What if Grandpa gets to it first? _Basil internally shook her head and pushed the thoughts in the back of her mind as she stepped into Herbology, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with retrieving that Locket till much, much later.

**Thanks for reading and I hope you review. **


	14. A Few Realizations

_A Few Realizations_

Night shadowed the Ravenclaw tower with only the lamps to illuminate the wide common room. Basil sat, notes in hand, with her back to Anna who was doodling in one of her notebooks; Anna made a humming noise while turning her pencil back and forth. Basil read books after books about the Locket of Triton and the other objects that could resurrect any person, yet nothing made sense. Her head pounded against her skull making it very difficult to concentrate. Nothing connected, not even her Grandfather, the Locket, and Lord Voldermort. All she knew was that it was happening and she needed to stop it.

"Anna, could you help me with this?" Basil sighed.

"You know what Mr. Potter said. We shouldn't interfere with the Locket of Triton." Anna argued. Her face turned to Basil. Anna's refusals were getting on Basil's nerve.

"He also said Sebastian would be a pleasant surprise, but look at him now. He's taking my best friend away." Basil whined with a pout. She knew the blonde would fall for this.

Anna turned, slightly red in the face, with eyes widening and watering. Basil knew it was a horrible thing to do, but she needed help. Besides, maybe it would snap her out of her loving state. Anna joined Basil at the small desk; the blonde analyzed the books and notes for about a minute.

"Oh Basil, don't you remember Albus and James's story? About the horcruxes?" Anna questioned.

"They destroyed the horcruxes, also destroying Voldermort's soul." Basil said slowly.

"Exactly! In this passage it says you need the deceased person's soul to be intact, but it's destroyed-"

"So what will happen if my Grandfather tries to do the ritual?" Basil gaped.

Before Anna could add on, there was a smash then thud behind the door to the Ravenclaw common room. Both girls sprinted towards the door and pressed their ears to listen; there was a whining moan. Anna threw open the door to find none other than Sebastian Dixon lying on the staircase. Anna gasped then drug the older boy into the common room couch.

"Sebastian, what happened?" Anna shrieked. Sebastian groaned then tossed around on the couch.

"It…it was…it was the lake." Sebastian groaned.

Anna rolled him back on the couch, coddling him like a baby. Sebastian had deep cuts in his arms and dark bruises on his forehead. Basil cleaned him up and ran to the boys' room to find some fitting clothes for him. Basil sat in the chair next to Sebastian to watch him, but she felt something was off about him.

"What happened Seb?" Basil asked sweetly.

"Merpeople attacked me." He replied stiffly.

"Why were you out so late at night?" Basil placed her papers back in her bag as she waited for a reply.

"I snuck out because I couldn't get work done. Your little friend Malfoy was going off on that boy Peter." His deep foreign voice wavered as each word was slow.

"Oh right, well why come to the tower?" Basil remarked.

"Now I understand why you're in Ravenclaw. I always thought it was a mistake as you seemed a bit…dumb I would say. But I see you have some brain power." Sebastian remarked with a dry laugh.

Offense was surely taken as redness appeared on her face and her fist clenched into balls. Before Basil could come up with a defense, Anna returned with bright smiles and warm clothes. She informed him that the Prefects will allow him to sleep in their room till morning. Basil felt uneasy, but bit her tongue from making any comments. Basil went to put her book away when the same deep voice rang back to her.

"What's that?" Sebastian asked. Anna helped him upwards.

"A book of artifacts and other magical objects." Basil replied.

"Did I see a page of Reincarnation?" Sebastian questioned with a lifted eyebrow.

Basil didn't respond. She saw the foreign boy watch her as she placed all her things in her bag then back to Anna who sat next to the boy. Basil could see suspicion in Sebastian's glare, but she left for her bedroom. _Oh Scorpius and Albus will love this. _

The next morning was chaotic as the night before; Anna was rushing to help Sebastian, Persephone and Meg were squealing about dances and dates, and Basil kept being pushed out of the way by her friends. Basil finally made herself to the common room where Victoire sat with her cousins Molly and Lucy.

"What's wrong Basil?" Victoire asked sweetly. Basil sighed heavily.

"Anna, Persephone, and Meg are all obsessed with Sebastian. It's just so much right now." Basil expressed. The three girls gave her a sympathetic expression.

"Don't worry Basil, he'll be gone soon enough." Lucy replied, tucking her red hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, only a few more months! To be honest, I really don't know what they see in him; he's like any other guy in the school." Victoire added with a sigh.

"Really? I always thought he reminded me of Donovan Finnegan." Molly said.

Basil turned her head slightly as she tried to remember what he looked like. Donovan was Irish with freckles and sandy hair. Donovan looked nothing like Sebastian! Basil thought he had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes like Scorpius.

"Are you sure?" Basil asked in an astonished tone.

"Yes, sandy hair and brown eyes." Lucy, Victoire, and Basil looked at her funny.

Victoire began telling her cousin that he had dyed hair while Lucy said he had black hair. Basil threw her bag over her shoulder and scurried down the stairs to look for her friends. The water level had gotten worse so everyone was evacuated to the second floor for their classes and special arrangements. As she rushed through the halls, the sight of blond and messy hair appeared in front of her. _It was almost too easy to find them now. _Basil thought with an internal laugh.

"Scor! Albus! Anna and I figured something out last night." Basil called as she entered the duo.

"Hello to you too." Scorpius snickered with wet hair slicked back. Albus rolled his eyes.

"What is it?"

"To reincarnate," Basil hushed her tone and huddled against them. "You need their soul intact, but Voldermort's soul isn't intact. Your father destroyed it." Basil whispered.

"That's right! So what will happen if they go along with the ritual?" Albus asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"Anything could happen. We haven't figured it out yet." Basil replied.

"Well that doesn't really help right now, we still need to figure out where the Locket is." Scorpius reminded. His voice showed irritation yet he kept a straight face.

"Speaking of that, Sebastian was in Ravenclaw tower last night and he saw that I was reading about reincarnation. I think he may know something. "Basil informed. Albus turned slightly red.

"Why was he there? Did Anna bring him there?" Basil could see the anger building up in his voice.

"No, he said he was attacked by the Merpeople and came straight to the tower. I think that's bull though, he would've collapsed before getting all the way to the top." Basil groaned. Scorpius nodded his head in agreement.

"What did Anna say about it?" Albus almost shouted, face reddening.

"She helped him get cleaned up. They're probably still together."

Before anyone else said anything, Albus clenched his bag and stomped off to wherever. Basil heard him say something about Meg and Persephone, but he kept hurrying off somewhere. Scorpius stepped closer to Basil, sympathy in his piercing eyes. Basil felt all her frustrations wash away once Scorpius looked at her.

"Everything is crashing down around me." Basil sighed with a frown degrading her face.

"I know Basil. I've been with you this whole time. Your grandfather, Sebastian, passing out, everything Basil." Scorpius agreed.

"What do we do now?" Basil stared back up into Scorpius's eyes. They had a weird familiarity but couldn't quite remember.

"We do what you did last year. Figure out the target, our suspect, and then where it's coming from." Scorpius assured. A smile graced his face and a little bit of hope returned to Basil.

"Our target is the school and students. Suspect-"

"Sebastian."

"Yes, Sebastian."

Basil connected eyes with Scorpius and something happened that Basil didn't even see coming. The connection was made. Basil noticed the color of his eyes and everything seemed to fall into place. Any theories from before was now sold facts and the familiarity soon turned to absolute memories. It was from a class a few weeks ago, it now made sense.

"Scorpius, I think Sebastian is using the Metamorphous Mixture."


	15. A Tear In The Friendship

_A Tear in the Friendship_

Scorpius's eyes widened with confusion as if he was watching some sort of muggle sport game. Basil laughed with happiness as Scorpius looked at her as if she was insane. They evacuated to a more solitude place to discuss what just happened, hoping no one would overhear their conversation.

"I just realized that everyone has a different description of Sebastian. He must be using a Metamorphous Mixture." Basil exclaimed. Scorpius cocked his head to one side.

"So Sebastian doesn't have brown hair and brown eyes?" Scorpius asked with confusion planted in his face.

"I have no idea. When I look at him I see blonde hair and blue eyes." Basil admitted.

Scorpius placed his hand through his hair with another questioning look on his face. Bashfully, Basil tried to form words to continue on with her theory; yet her words turned to mumbles and stutters. Scorpius coughed with a smug grin on his face.

"I-uh-well, I think that he may not be Sebastian Dixon, son of the Norwegian Minister of Magic, but maybe one of my Grandfather's goons." Basil added, blush fading as determination returned.

"Right, well class starts soon. I'll catch you at lunch." Scorpius nodded to the brunette then left.

Basil felt content once her friend left; she finally figured out one piece of the puzzle and now they are a little bit closer to finding that Locket. A blissful smile didn't leave Basil's thin lips till after two whole classes with Professor Carrie and Aguirre.

Professor Aguirre was especially snappy that class too. The young man would make sarcastic comments during the lesson, dropping or throwing things near Basil's desk, and even glaring at her from afar. Even Anna, who respected all her teachers, made an astonished expression throughout the class with the outright rudeness of the teacher. Once the class was over, Basil lingered in her chair, knowing that Aguirre would come to her.

"Ms. Sweets, you may leave now." Aguirre sneered. His hair was greying and his eyes were gloomy.

"I was just wondering professor, what's wrong? Is it about your brother?" Basil asked with as much compassion she could muster. Yet, anyone could tell her sarcasm was lurking behind her fake, sympathetic eyes.

"Basil Sweets, you may leave now." The man yelled. His eyes burning in the younger girl's brown ones. An odd sense of confidence still lingered in young Basil though.

"Professor, I will not leave until you tell me. You know I'm trying my best to find out-"

"Hush! I hope you're not snooping around again. Remember what happened last year? You accused me of hurting those students." Aguirre glared, but his face softened. "If you must know, all the children who walk by the lake are being attacked by either the Lake Monster or Merpeople. As Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, I must handle it myself."

It all clicked once again for Basil Sweets; it seemed to be her lucky day with clues now. Basil now saw that she was a punching bag for the teacher to relieve stress. A sigh and a roll of the eye was held back to save the man anymore stress or ammo to use against Basil.

"Have you heard of the Locket of Triton, Professor?" Basil asked with a thin smile. The older man's eyes narrowed at her.

"Yes I have, but if you are to accuse that the trinket is hidden under the lake, I will tell you to if that is a lie and that you are absolutely absurd." Aguirre groaned. He returned to his seat with a smirk on his face.

Basil eyed the older teacher, a certain hatred that only comes from irritation or humiliation bubbled inside of her. Aguirre dismissed her yet again, slight taunting in his words, but Basil left this time. The brunette didn't want to endure anymore harassing from the childish teacher with obvious childhood issues.

A familiar smell of roast, sandwiches, and Butter Beer entered the hallway, yet this is not what the afternoons smelled like on a usual occasions. Basil noticed the food being held in another large room on the second floor, where the students had to attend to not get soaked, to have all their necessary meals. Basil entered to see her Ravenclaw group of friends; Anna was muttering angrily at Persephone and Meg.

"What's up guys?" Basil greeted wearily. Anna gave her a fuming glare.

"Albus told me what you said about Sebastian!" Anna snapped in a hushed tone. Basil, offended and frustrated, crossed her arms.

"I guess Scorpius told him that." Basil muttered angrily. "Anyways, if you hung out with us you'd know our reasons." Basil replied hastily.

"You know Sebastian would never dare do any of those things! He's too sweet." Anna defended, yet her soft voice couldn't rise over normal tone.

"Anna, stop being blinded." Basil whispered to her best friend. "He's manipulating all of us."

"You know what Basil, I'm sick of you snooping through people's lives! I'm not talking to you until you apologize!" Anna yelled, finally slamming her plate on the table.

Basil couldn't take anymore of Anna's idiotic accusations and dumb defenses for Sebastian, so she rushed out of the new dining room. The sound of two pair of footsteps followed behind her was clear as day to the brunette. Basil spun around and flung herself into the arms of the blonde boy, hoping to feel some comfort.

"What happened? We just saw you stomp off." Scorpius gasped as he returned the embrace.

"Anna is mad that I'm suspecting Sebastian of trying to steal the Locket of Triton. She says she won't talk to me unless I apologize." Basil held back a cry. _I can't cry in front of them…be strong. _

"Yeah, she told me off too." Albus agreed with a pitiful pout.

Scorpius released his embrace of Basil, taking a hold of her arms and staring into her brown eyes with fierceness and confidence that Basil could not forget. It was almost like slapping her across the face once he opened his mouth. It was something that Basil didn't know she needed.

"Basil, Anna is just being controlled by that jerk. She can't hate you forever; we just have to prove her wrong." Scorpius gripped Basil's rounded arms. "Albus and I know you won't let this get to you. You know Anna, she can be a bit ditzy."

A smile once again graced Basil's round face, smirks landing on Albus's face also, as Scorpius retreated his grasp on the brunette. _His confidence never falters. _Basil thought with a satisfied nod of approval over the blond's words of inspiration.

"Let's do this."

Albus draped himself over Basil, his green eyes fixating over the book he read, while Scorpius sat at Basil's feet with his History of Magic homework almost finished. Basil reread the passage of the Locket of Triton with boredom pulling down on her eyelids. Albus adjusted his legs over Basil's lap, making a sound of satisfaction.

"Uncle Nev- I mean Professor Longbottom was telling me about some ministry stuff today, and he gave me a note to look through the restricted section. I told him I was interested in learning about the Second Wizarding War." Albus admitted guiltily.

"And what'd you find out Potter?" Scorpius asked, suddenly interested.

"I found this book about ancient rituals and spells. It says here that spells that are over hundreds of years old can be broken by large mass of energy. Remember we had a whole summer worth of lightning storms." Albus read.

"That's right, it covered all of England! Do you think it may have knocked the spells out to affect the locket?" Basil happily enquired.

"I would think so, human nature or manmade, I think it was enough to make the Locket use its full power on the lake." Scorpius added in.

"If it was manmade, that means my Grandfather has some tricks on his sleeves."

_Another step closer! _Basil cheered to herself, yet something didn't feel right. Basil felt the chemistry was off without the sound of high pitch laughter and off key humming to fill the room. Anna was out with Meg, Persephone, and Sebastian tonight and still wasn't talking to Basil.

Suddenly there was a rush of people giggling, squealing, and clapping entering the Ravenclaw common room. Anna's green eyes glared at the trio, but she tried to keep a smile on her face as she danced off to the girls' dorms. Meg and Persephone stayed behind with clapping and giggles still echoing the room.

"What's happening?" Albus asked curiously, redness appearing on the apples of his cheeks.

"You won't believe it!" Persephone squealed uncontrollably.

"Sebastian asked Anna, yes our Anna, to be his date to the dance!" Meg jumped so high that her glasses fell and her hair fell to one side.

"Are you serious?" Scorpius spat. Basil's mouth opened but no words fell.

Both girls nodded with giggles falling out of their mouths like they had stumbled drunkenly into Weasley's Wheezes. They left soon enough, probably to gossip with Anna again, leaving the trio to laugh about how childish they were acting. Albus though, he was certainly pissed off.

"Can't believe him…I swear I could…" Albus muttered as he buried himself into his book.

Basil kept a laughing from escaping, knowing Albus was more than ticked off already, and placed all her things in her bag. The dance did sound fun to Basil, but there was no way she would be able to attend. _I have to find this Locket…I have to prove Anna wrong. _It was sickening feeling knowing that she couldn't join in on the fun, but it was for the best for everyone.

"Basil, do you think that we can get this done before the dance?" Scorpius said lazily. He rolled his head back and looked towards his friends.

"I don't know Scor, the dance is in a month and a half." Basil hesitated then looked to Albus. "You guys can go though. I'll be fine to stay here."

"No, of course not. If you're not going, we're not." Scorpius stated with his usual confidence. "Right Potter?" A smirk wouldn't leave his face.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. I have no reason to go." Albus grumpily agreed.

Basil patted Albus's legs for some comfort, but she knew he was just going to sulk for as long as he can possibly can. It was still foreign to Basil to watch Albus try to conceal his feeling for Anna; she wasn't even sure Scorpius knew yet.

"I think it's time to head back to our houses." Albus yawned as he swung himself off the couch.

Albus said his goodnights to Basil and Scorpius then left for the Gryffindor house. Basil and Scorpius began to pack their things together and call it a night; it was getting late, but Basil still didn't want to return to her dorm. Scorpius threw his bag over his shoulder as he turned to say goodnight to Basil.

"Just saying, if we get this done before the dance, I'll gladly go with you." A blush covered his and Basil's face. "You know…as friends of course."

"Yes, of course!" An awkward laugh escaped from both of them.

Scorpius said his goodnight, rosy cheeks still visible, then left for Slytherin house. Basil brought her things together and went straight to her room; all of her roommates were passed out in bed already. The brunette took this as a lucky chance as she didn't want another awkward run in with her irritated best friend.

As Basil laid in her bed, the sounds of Persephone's light snores and the owls flying outside seemed to echo throughout the tower. The water, that now was well above the first level of Hogwarts, we barely audible in the high tower. Basil couldn't quite get herself to sleep as the noises irritated her and the nagging stress in her head was making her head pound as she tossed and turned

_I have to find the Locket…I have to make up with Anna…why can't I sleep? _Basil groaned as she threw her face deeper into her pillow. Basil knew she could do it, she figured out who was turning everyone to stone last year so why is it so difficult now? _Oh right, because Anna_ _isn't helping. _Basil knew she could do it without her, but she missed Anna's conventional theories and quick analyzing. Of course Albus and Scorpius were help enough, yet Basil yearned for her female companion. Before she could dwell anymore on her loneliness, sleep knocked the brunette out for the night, not knowing what could happen in the early hours of the next morning.


End file.
